5 Syrian truffle hunters killed in suspected ISIS ambush

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least five people were killed in a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) ambush while truffle hunting in Syria’s central Homs province on Friday, state media reported.

Five civilians were shot dead while picking truffles, SANA reported citing a source from Homs police. The assailants were on a motorcycle when they opened fire in the Jab al-Jirah area of eastern Homs province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, reported that six people, including a “member of the regime forces” were killed in the attack that it blamed on ISIS.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Despite repeated warnings from authorities, hundreds of poverty-stricken Syrians venture into the Badia desert between February and April each year in search of truffles. The desert is known to be a hideout for jihadists and also contains landmines, making it a high-risk area to search for the delicacy.

According to SOHR, so far this year ISIS has conducted at least 50 operations in the Syrian desert, including ambushes, armed attacks, and explosions. These attacks have killed 101 members of the Syrian army and their affiliated groups, as well as ten civilians, including a child.

The Syrian army also killed 17 ISIS members.

After their territorial defeat in March 2019 to a military operation led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and backed by a United States-led global coalition, ISIS militants have carried out hit-and-run attacks on civilians and military targets of both the Syrian regime and the Kurdish-led authority in the northwest of the country.