Suspected Sabotage Triggers Massive Fire on Syria Gas Pipeline

A severe fire erupted along a gas pipeline situated in Syria's eastern province of Deir Ezzor, near the border with Iraq, following an isolation valve explosion that local authorities have blamed on sabotage.

According to the official Sana news agency, which cited the state petroleum company, the blaze started late on Monday and successfully disrupted gas flows from the Jbeissa gas plant to various power generation stations.

Emergency fire crews moved quickly to isolate the zone on both sides of the active blaze, working to extinguish the flames as gas pressure steadily decreased, Sana reported. Authorities explicitly attributed the sudden blast to an "act of sabotage."

Hisham Al Saleh, a gas sector official at the Syrian Petroleum Company, confirmed that response teams began cordoning off the area immediately following the outbreak of the fire.

The affected region, located between Al Shola and Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, is home to critical plants and pipelines responsible for the production and transportation of gas, as noted by Sana.

At the time of reporting, the news agency made no mention of casualties and did not disclose specific details regarding the extent of the damage sustained by the pipeline.