"Islamic State Attacks Kill 43 in Syria: Latest News and Updates"

2023-04-16 23:09:00

43 people were killed in Syria as a result of 3 separate attacks, 2 of which were launched on Sunday by gunmen believed to be from the “Islamic State” organization.Islamic country“.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, in a new toll, that 36 people were killed while collecting truffles in central Syria, as a result of an attack launched by gunmen affiliated with cells of the “Islamic State” organization, while the official Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported that 5 shepherds were killed in the countryside of Deir Ezzor in separate attack.

Residents of the Al-Shaafa area in the countryside of Deir Ezzor also found the bodies of two civilians who were killed in a previous attack by the “Islamic State” organization while they were collecting truffles, according to the observatory.

The Observatory reported the killing of “civilians and military personnel as a result of an armed attack on them while they were collecting truffles in the Duizen area, east of Hama, in the center of the country,” explaining that 17 of the dead were members of the “National Defense” loyal to the regime.

In a separate incident, SANA said, “A terrorist group attacked with machine guns 5 citizens who were grazing sheep in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, which led to their death.”

She added, “The terrorists also shot directly at the flocks of sheep, which led to the death of about 250 of them.”

Two shepherds were kidnapped in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor during an attack launched by gunmen, whom the Observatory believes are affiliated with cells of the “Islamic State” organization.

She added that the gunmen were “riding motorcycles with machine guns” and stole the entire flock of sheep.

During its control of large areas in Syria, starting in 2014, the “Islamic State” organization took control of several towns and villages in the eastern countryside of Hama, before it was expelled from it in 2017.

The release of dozens of prisoners

Since the start of the truffle collection season in February, the organization has repeatedly launched attacks targeting workers in the vast Syrian desert, punctuated by shootings and kidnappings.

The death toll as a result of the organization’s attacks in the Syrian Desert since the beginning of the year has reached more than 235 people, most of them civilians, according to the Observatory.

Despite the risks, residents of the areas adjacent to the Syrian Badia continue to collect truffles, whose season lasts until April, and are sold at a high price, which explains the demand for collecting them in light of difficult economic conditions, with a war that has been going on for more than 12 years.

The price per kilogram ranges between $5 and $25, depending on the quality and size of the fruits.

Despite the strikes targeting its leaders, movements, and locations, the organization is still able to launch attacks and carry out sporadic attacks, especially in eastern and northeastern Syria, and in the vast Syrian desert.

On March 24, 15 people were killed while collecting truffles, as a result of an attack launched by the organization in central Syria, and in mid-February, 68 people were killed while collecting truffles in an attack launched by the extremist organization in the eastern countryside of Homs, according to the Observatory.

This is considered the most violent attack launched by the organization in more than a year, when it attacked a prison in northwestern Syria, specifically in an area controlled by Kurdish forces.

On that day, the attack resulted in 373 deaths, including 268 jihadists, after fierce battles that lasted for several days, according to the observatory.

On Sunday, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration announced, in a statement, the release of dozens of inmates from Ghweran Central Prison in the city of Hasakah and Alaya Prison in the city of Qamishli, on the occasion of the approaching Eid al-Fitr.

The correspondent of the French News Agency in northeastern Syria stated that the released detainees “were accused of terrorism, on the grounds of their cooperation with the members of the Islamic State and their families.”

Since 2011, Syria has been witnessing a bloody and complex conflict, which has caused the death of more than half a million people, massive destruction of infrastructure, and the displacement of more than half of the population inside and outside the country.