Syrian security forces have arrested two men suspected of belonging to a Hezbollah-linked cell accused of planning an attack on the Homs oil refinery, one of the country’s key energy facilities, Syrian state media and security officials reported on Tuesday.

The General Intelligence Directorate, working with the Internal Security Forces, carried out what authorities described as a preventive security operation that foiled the alleged plot and led to the seizure of explosive devices intended for use in the attack, state news agency SANA reported.

The suspects, identified by their initials as M.S. and B.Ch., were allegedly members of a cell affiliated with the Lebanese Iran-backed group. Officials did not disclose where the arrests took place or provide further details about the alleged plan, including when it was uncovered.

SANA cited a security forces statement but did not initially specify the number of people detained. An earlier announcement by Syrian intelligence on Sunday said authorities had thwarted a plot targeting the refinery without identifying those allegedly involved.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. The group has repeatedly rejected Syrian accusations that it maintains cells or conducts military and security operations inside the country.

The Homs refinery, located about 20 kilometers from the Lebanese border, is a major supplier of petroleum products to the domestic market, including diesel, fuel oil and kerosene. It is currently Syria’s only operational refinery, as the Baniyas facility on the Mediterranean coast is undergoing maintenance following years of conflict.

Series of attacks on energy infrastructure

The alleged plot comes amid a series of incidents targeting Syria’s energy infrastructure.

On Oct. 15, an oil-products pipeline linking Baniyas and Homs was damaged in what Syrian authorities described as an act of sabotage, causing a fuel leak. An explosion also struck a gas pipeline in the northeastern province of Hasakah that day, triggering a fire and prompting emergency repair work.

Syrian authorities have reported other incidents in recent weeks. On Oct. 7, they said an act of sabotage had damaged an oil pipeline in the country’s northeast. An explosion on Oct. 1 hit a gas pipeline near Damascus, taking three power plants offline, while another pipeline blast was reported in eastern Syria two days earlier.

The latest arrests follow a series of accusations by Damascus against Hezbollah since the December 2024 overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad.

At the end of September, Syrian authorities announced that they had foiled what they described as a Hezbollah-linked sabotage plot in the southern province of Daraa and arrested three suspects. They were accused of setting up rocket-launch platforms for potential attacks intended to “destabilize the security and stability” of the area, which borders Israel.

Hezbollah swiftly denied the allegations, saying it had no presence in Syria and was not involved in military or security activities there.

Damascus has also accused the group of involvement in other alleged plots, including planned assassinations, rocket attacks and arms smuggling. Syrian security forces have repeatedly announced the seizure of weapons, particularly near the Lebanese border, which authorities said were intended for the Iran-backed group.

Hezbollah was a key military ally of Assad and fought alongside his forces during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war. Relations between the group and Syria’s new authorities have deteriorated sharply since Assad’s removal from power in December 2024.

The Syrian government has also repeatedly denied that it intends to intervene militarily in Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, despite pressure from Washington to take such action.

Against this backdrop, Lebanese Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar became the first Hezbollah-affiliated minister to visit Damascus on an official trip since Assad’s fall. He traveled on Monday with a Lebanese government delegation for talks with his Syrian counterpart.

In August, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said he was open to meeting Syria’s new leadership after Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa raised the possibility of such a meeting.