ISIS Blamed for Attacks on 3 Oil Facilities in Syria

A war monitor group said that the Islamic State terror group was likely responsible for this weekend’s coordinated strikes on three oil and gas installations in central Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that two natural gas facilities and an oil refinery were targeted in Homs Province, while noting this came just hours after ISIS terrorists had ambushed a military garrison at a fourth gas facility, killing at least 17 people. The head of the Observatory warned that the attacks showed that ISIS remained active in the war-torn country, despite having earlier this year been ousted from its last bastion by a US- and Kurdish-led military campaign. Shortly thereafter, President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of all US soldiers from Syria, only to reverse his decision amid public opposition by close political allies and military leaders. The US leader has repeatedly declared total victory over ISIS, whose self-proclaimed “caliphate” once spanned huge swaths across Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon currently has approximately 1,000 troops stationed in eastern Syria, where most of the country’s oil deposits are located.