Deadly truffle incidents in Syria

At least 14 truffle hunters were killed on Sunday in the explosion of a mine planted by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in a desert area in northern Syria, the Syrian state news agency Sana reported.

"Fourteen citizens were killed and eight others injured in the explosion of an anti-personnel mine left by IS terrorists while they were collecting truffles in the desert of Raqqa province," the agency said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based NGO with a wide network of sources in Syria, had earlier reported a toll of "13 civilians, including women" killed in the blast.

The jihadist group, which controlled vast territories starting in 2014 in Syria, was defeated in March 2019 in the country by an international anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States and allied with Kurdish forces.

However, many jihadist fighters retreated to the Syrian desert afterward, and numerous mines are present in the area.

The Syrian desert is known for producing some of the world's best truffles, which fetch high prices in a country ravaged by over a decade of war and overwhelming economic crisis, where harvesting them can be a lucrative livelihood.

According to the SOHR, IS jihadists often target locals who go truffle hunting in remote areas. Despite frequent warnings from authorities, this high-risk activity continues.

In 2023, several hundred people, mostly civilians, were killed while harvesting sand truffles, sold at high prices, during IS fighter attacks in the desert or in mine explosions, according to a count by the SOHR.

The war in Syria, triggered by the crackdown in 2011 on pro-democracy protests, has claimed half a million lives, displaced millions of people, and fragmented the country.