Syria: at least 36 civilians killed in suspected IS attack

At least 36 civilians were killed on Friday in an attack in central Syria that was blamed on Islamic State, a war monitor said.

The jihadist group “killed 36 people Friday while they were truffle hunting in Sokhna in the Palmyra region”, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Others managed to escape the attack, the observatory said.

Syrian state TV was reporting a higher death toll, with at least 53 people killed.

IS has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Many people, including women and children, have been targeted in recent years while truffle hunting in central, north-eastern and eastern areas of Syria.

Sixteen people, mostly civilians, were killed on Saturday in a similar attack targeting foragers in the same area, the observatory said.

Dozens of others were reportedly kidnapped in the attack and 25 of them were released but the fate of the others remains unknown.

After the jihadists lost territory following a military onslaught backed by a US-led coalition in March 2019, IS remnants in Syria mostly retreated to hideouts in the desert.

They have since used such hideouts to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops while continuing to mount attacks in neighbouring Iraq.