ALBAWABA - Citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, AFP reported that an attack by the ISIS group killed at least 11 people who were hunting for desert truffles in northern Syria on Sunday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 11 people collecting truffles were killed when "Daesh" fighters detonated a bomb as their car passed in the desert of Raqqa province in northern Syria.
The Observatory added that following the attack which prompted a major blast, ISIS fighters opened fire on people in the area. Residents of the area were looking for 3 missing people as the fighters reportedly kidnapped them during the attack.
The victims are two civilians and nine "National Defence" members, three of whom were kidnapped and their fate is unknown. In the same context, residents and gunmen from the region went to look for missing individuals and recover the dead, the Observatory added.
Earlier in March, 19 truffle farmers were killed after their vehicle collided with a mine in an ISIS-controlled area of Raqqa, Syria, according to the Observatory.
Desert truffles can command high prices in a country ravaged by 13 years of war and a crippling economic crisis.
Every year between February and April, hundreds of impovrished Syrians risk their lives foraging for the delicacy in the vast Syrian desert, which is a recognized terrorist stronghold and is also filled with explosives.
