International Desk: At least 18 people have been killed in an attack by gunmen while collecting truffles in the desert of Syria in the Middle East. About half a hundred people are missing after this attack. However, the death toll is expected to be higher.

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On Thursday (March 7), the British media BBC reported this information.

At least 18 people have been killed by suspected IS group gunmen in the Syrian desert, a monitoring group said. The victims were gathering truffles in the desert when they were attacked.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, says more than 50 people are still missing since the attack in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zor.

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The country's pro-government Al-Mayadeen TV reported that at least 47 people were killed in the attack. On the other hand, the Kurdish North Press News Agency says that around 40 people, including women and children, were killed in the attack.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that 18 people, including four members of the pro-government paramilitary National Defense Force (NDF), were killed in the attack.

The group said IS gunmen opened fire on a group of truffle hunters in Kobajib, a desert area south of Deir al-Zor province. There was a clash between gunmen and NDF fighters there. At that time 12 cars were burnt there.

Relatives of several truffle hunters and medical sources told North Press from Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria that 40 civilians, including 4 NDF fighters, were killed.

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The BBC says the attack is believed to have been carried out by IS. However, there was no immediate claim from the group.

It should be noted that many Syrian truffle hunters were killed in several gun attacks last year as well. IS was widely blamed for those attacks and casualties. However, the terrorist group has not claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Truffles are actually an edible fungus that grows in arid areas. It is a very valuable food. Truffles sell for up to $35 per kilogram in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

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Where the minimum monthly wage of the people of the country is about 14 US dollars. Approximately 90 percent of the country's population lives below the poverty line.

IS once spread over 88,000 square kilometers from western Syria to eastern Iraq. took over the territory and imposed its brutal rule on about 8 million people.

Despite the group's military defeat in Syria in 2019, the United Nations has warned that IS and its affiliates remain a high threat.

According to a report last January, IS has approximately 3-5 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria. Their attacks on Syria have intensified since last November.

Sun News/NJ