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Syria landmine explosion kills 19 searching for truffles

  • The blast that hit the vehicle of the truffle searchers happened in a desert area known as a hideout for jihadists
  • The desert truffles fetch high prices in a country battered by 13 years of war and an economic crisis

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Syrian vendors selling truffles at a market in Aleppo, Syria on February 28, 2024. Photo: AFP
At least 19 people searching for truffles in the north Syria desert have been killed after their vehicle hit a landmine, a war monitor said.
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Between February and April each year, hundreds of impoverished Syrians risk their lives searching for truffles in the vast Syrian Desert, or Badia – a known hideout for jihadists that is also littered with mines.

Nineteen civilians, including 12 women, were killed and several others were wounded when their small truck hit a mine on Saturday in an area where Islamic State group (IS) extremists are present in Raqa province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based Observatory said the truck was carrying more than 20 civilians who were searching for desert truffles, which fetch high prices in a country battered by 13 years of war and a crushing economic crisis.

Recent weeks have seen repeated deadly mine blasts as Syrians hunt for truffles. Authorities have frequently warned against the high-risk practice.

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