The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) announced the death of 11 people, mostly civilians, in an attack attributed to the Islamic State (IS) group in central Syria. The jihadist group “attacked about 75 people on Saturday as they were picking truffles in the Palmyra region, in the countryside near Homs”, said the UK-based NGO, which has an extensive network of sources in Syria. The attack killed “ten civilians, including a woman, and a member of the Syrian regime forces”. Other people are still missing.
Syrian state media also reported on the attack, but with a lighter toll. IS “terrorists” fired “machine guns” and killed four civilians, including a woman, the official Sana news agency reported. She added that ten people were injured in the attack, some of them “seriously”.
IS has stepped up deadly attacks in recent months despite the loss of its strongholds in Syria and the blows inflicted by the international anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States. According to the OSDH, the IS takes advantage of the fact that inhabitants of remote rural areas venture to pick up truffles in order to attack them. In April 2021, at least 19 people, mostly civilians, were abducted by the jihadist group in a central province of the country while they were looking for truffles.
Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since 2011, triggered by the crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which has left half a million dead, displaced millions and fragmented the country.
