Islamic State kills 15 truffle hunters in Syria, as clashes resume in Aleppo
The two incidents demonstrated the continued dangers of the Syrian civil war, even as the conflict has wound down somewhat.
The Islamic State (IS) killed several civilians in central Syria on Thursday, while on the same day deadly clashes occurred between government and rebel forces in the north.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that IS killed 15 people in the desert outside of Hama in central Syria via a brutal knife attack. The victims were hunting for truffles. Seven of those killed were civilians, while eight were members of the pro-government al-Qaterji militia. Another 40 people are unaccounted for, the UK-based war monitor reported on Friday.
Syrians forage for truffles because they bring in high prices. The Syrian economy has been battered by more than 10 years of war, as well as by US sanctions.
In an unrelated incident, the Syrian military was attacked on Thursday night by rebel fighters in the western countryside outside of Aleppo in northern Syria. The military claimed it killed 11 of the perpetrators and that there were foreigners among those killed, Syria’s state-run SANA news outlet reported on Friday.
