On the Record: Beyond Palmyra, IS cuts regime gas flow

With the Islamic State’s capture of Palmyra in the eastern Homs desert, several important gas pumping stations are under IS control, Samir Abu al-Kher, a citizen journalist from Palmyra, tells Syria Direct’s Noura al-Hourani.

You mentioned that four pumping stations are now controlled by IS, where are these four stations?

It is a series of several pumping stations. The first is in Iraqi territory, and the second is on the Iraqi-Syrian border, the third is in a-Sakhana, northeast of Palmyra, which IS also cook control of, and the fourth is about 65 kilometers east of Palmyra in the direction of Homs.

What is the significance of controlling these stations to IS?

They have a great significance for IS because the regime was pumping gas from Iraq to the Syrian coast for export, but now since pumps in Iraq stopped, the regime was pumping from Deir e-Zor to the coast.