The Islamic State announced that a group affiliated with them attacked oil tankers belonging to the Qaterji company, which is close to the Syrian regime, as they transported oil shipments from the al-Shaddadi fields in eastern al-Hasakah.
The group stated via its official Telegram account (a closed newsroom) on Thursday, November 14, that its fighters attacked oil tankers belonging to the Qaterji company near the Kebiba oil field in the al-Shaddadi area.
They added that their fighters targeted three oil tankers with automatic weapons, resulting in the death of the driver and the burning of the tankers.
Following the attack, the Islamic State’s members clashed with a military patrol of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that came to the area to support the tanker convoy, resulting in the death of one SDF member and injury to another.
The group published a series of images showing the burning tankers and the spillage of their cargo on the road.
For its part, the SDF stated yesterday, Wednesday, that four members of the Islamic State attacked a fuel tanker on the road connecting the cities of al-Shaddadi and al-Dashisha in the rural areas of al-Hasakah and Deir Ezzor.
The attack resulted in the death of the tanker driver, Ibrahim Shihab, who was from the city of Aleppo, and damage to the tanker, according to the SDF.
The SDF mourned one of its members who was killed during the clash with the Islamic State’s group, as published on their official website.
The Islamic State continues its attempts to benefit from the revenues of oil fields in the rural areas of Deir Ezzor by targeting oil tankers and imposing fees on some investors and workers involved in transporting and selling oil.
The Nabaa newspaper, affiliated with the Islamic State group, published a diagram explaining the statistics of its attacks on oil transport tankers in areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration east of the Euphrates, alongside others within areas controlled by the Syrian regime.
The newspaper announced that the group managed to cripple 51 oil tankers across Syria and spilled the cargo of another 15 tankers over a period of 381 days, between August 2023 and last August.
According to the infographic titled “Economic War… Targeting PKK Tankers,” the Islamic State group executed 16 attacks in Deir Ezzor province, three attacks in Raqqa province, one attack in Hama province, and one in al-Hasakah.
Tankers belonging to Syrian businessman Hussam al-Qaterji transport oil from northeastern Syria, where the SDF is in control, to areas controlled by the Syrian regime.