BEIRUT: Suspected Islamic State group militants on Saturday killed three truffle hunters and kidnapped at least 26 others in northern Syria, a war monitor said.

“Armed men likely affiliated with IS cells targeted truffle hunters in the desert southeast of Aleppo, killing three by cutting their throats and kidnapping at least 26 others, including women,” said the Syrian Observa­tory for Human Rights.

Syrian state media did not report the incident. The Britain-based group claimed the attack on the civilians happened near positions held by pro-Iran forces.

Between February and April each year, hundreds of impoverished Syrians search for truffles in the vast Syrian Desert, or Badia — a known hideout for jihadists that is also littered with landmines.

Since February, 139 people — 120 of them civilians — have been killed by IS attacks targeting truffle hunters or mines left by the extremists, according to the observatory.

Syria’s desert truffles fetch high prices in a country battered by 12 years of war and a crushing economic crisis. Foragers risk their lives to collect the delicacies despite repea­ted warnings about landmines and IS fighters.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2023