BEIRUT: Suspected Islamic State group militants on Saturday killed three truffle hunters and kidnapped a minimum of 26 others in northern Syria, a battle monitor stated.
“Armed males possible affiliated with IS cells focused truffle hunters within the desert southeast of Aleppo, killing three by slicing their throats and kidnapping a minimum of 26 others, together with girls,” stated the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Syrian state media didn’t report the incident. The Britain-based group claimed the assault on the civilians occurred close to positions held by pro-Iran forces.
Between February and April every year, lots of of impoverished Syrians seek for truffles within the huge Syrian Desert, or Badia — a recognized hideout for jihadists that can be plagued by landmines.
Since February, 139 folks — 120 of them civilians — have been killed by IS assaults focusing on truffle hunters or mines left by the extremists, in accordance with the observatory.
Syria’s desert truffles fetch excessive costs in a rustic battered by 12 years of battle and a crushing financial disaster. Foragers threat their lives to gather the delicacies regardless of repeated warnings about landmines and IS fighters.
Revealed in Daybreak, March twelfth, 2023
Source link