Baladi News – Homs (Mohammed Anas)
The majority of oil fields in Syria have been controlled by the Islamic state organization, except for very few of them, which are still held by the Syrian regime. However, supporters of Assad have recently uncovered a network of investors, which buys oil from the Islamic state, and then sell it all around the Syrian governorates, meanwhile profits go to the pockets of this small group of people.
The colonel in the Syrian army, Suheil Al Hassan, who gained massive fame in all the Syrian cities as a brave fighter against terrorism, and particularly against the Islamic State, turned out to be the main importer of oil from the Islamic State itself as reported by pro-Syrian regime sources on Wednesday.
The sources added that the colonel, known as the “Tiger”, hires dozens of his faithful fighters for this purpose, many of whom were killed while doing their tasks.
A member of a pro-regime network, “Abboud al-Abboud”, indicated in a message addressed to the regime president, Bashar al-Assad, that the close associate of the president, businessman Mohamed Hamsho, pays most of the price to Al Hassan, who in turn settles the invoices for the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Major General Zuhair al-Assad, relative of Bashar al-Assad pays al-Hassan the remaining amount.
Other regime allied sources added that Al Hassan sells the full imported quantities from the Islamic State to Mohamad Hamsho as well as his partners, Bilai Al Abed and Zuhair al-Assad, in deals completed by fake Syrian government companies that are actually owned by this small network.
Syrian regime allied social networks indicated that the “Tiger” , Major General Zuhair al-Assad, and Hamsho now own a huge number of gas stations all around the country, which are dedicated for selling fuel imported from the Islamic State. This small group raises, or lowers, the prices as dictated by their own interests.
According to sources, Zuhair al-Assad alone, currently owns 9 gas stations in the cities of Lattakia and Qardaha, which receive oil bought by Al Hassan who has recently got machines for refining diesel fuel in order to conceal the truth that the real source is the Islamic State held areas.