three people who were picking truffles in the desert killed by the Islamic State group

Three people were killed on Saturday March 11 and at least 26 others kidnapped in an attack attributed to the Islamic State group in northern Syria, announced the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). These victims were attacked while harvesting sand truffles in the desert in southern Aleppo province. This attack brings to 139 the number of people (including 120 civilians) killed since February, according to a count by the OSDH, an NGO with a vast network of sources in Syria.

This winter, the Islamic State group has stepped up deadly attacks despite its territorial defeat in Syria in March 2019 and the setbacks inflicted by the international anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States. According to the OSDH, the terrorist organization, which controlled large areas of Syrian territory from 2014, takes advantage of the fact that residents of remote rural areas pick up truffles to attack them.

The desert truffle, generally picked from February to April, sells for exorbitant prices in Syria. A kilo of truffles costs from 5 to 25 dollars, depending on size and quality, in a country where the average monthly salary is around 18 dollars. Due to the economic collapse caused by a civil war that has been going on since 2011, more and more villagers are venturing out in search of truffles.