At least 15 people died and 40 others remain missing after being surprised by an ambush by the jihadist group Islamic state (IS) while searching for truffles in the province of Hama, in northwestern Syria, reported this Friday the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Fighters of the terrorist formation attacked the group of collectors in a desert area on the outskirts of the town of Salamiyawhere they stabbed to death at least 15 people, according to a statement from the UK-based oenagé and a wide network of collaborators on the ground.
The organization specified that seven of the dead were civilians and the remaining eight belonged to a tribal militia, while another 40 people remain unaccounted for since the assault took place.
During the truffle harvesting season, it is common for these types of attacks to occur, since to obtain the precious product many citizens enter areas considered dangerous where IS cells are active or there are mines planted on the roads.
Economic crisis
According to the Observatory, a kilo of truffle is sold for the equivalent of about 10 dollars, although the price reaches more than 24 dollars in the capital of the Arab country.
Syria is mired in a serious economic crisis and close to the 90% of the population live below the poverty lineat a time when the country is experiencing its worst humanitarian crisis since the outbreak of the armed conflict almost 12 years ago.
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By the middle of last month, at least 68 people were killed shot by members of the Islamic State while foraging for truffles in the neighboring province of Homs.
The jihadist group was territorially defeated in the country in March 2019, but still maintains active cells in several points in the central desert of Badia, which stretches across several Syrian provinces, with a topography that helps the survival of these groups.