At least 53 people were killed in an attack in Syria’s central desert province of Homs, with state media blaming the killings on ISIL (ISIS). The bodies of the victims taken to the Palmyra state hospital had gunshot wounds to the head, according to the hospital’s director Walid Audi. He reported that 46 civilians and seven soldiers were killed, with five people wounded and transferred to another hospital.
One of the survivors told SANA that ISIL fighters had burned their cars. The attack occurred while the victims were gathering desert truffles in an area controlled by the Syrian government and its allies. If confirmed that ISIL was responsible, it would mark the deadliest attack by the group since January 2022 when its fighters stormed a prison in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Hassakeh.
ISIL has been using sleeper cells to wage hit-and-run attacks in Syria since losing control of vast swathes of territory in separate offensives by US-backed fighters, Syrian government forces backed by Russia, regional fighters and Turkish-backed rebels. Many people, including women and children, have been targeted in recent years while truffle hunting in central, northeastern and eastern areas of Syria.
The Syrian government troops are spread thin across the country and rely heavily on their allies – including the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Iran – to maintain control over territory. Separately on Friday, the United States Central Command reported that four US military personnel were injured in a blast during a raid that killed a senior ISIL leader in Syria, identified as Hamza al-Homsi.
At least 53 people were killed in an attack in Syria’s Homs province on Friday, with state media blaming the killings on ISIL (ISIS). The victims were gathering desert truffles when they were attacked, with gunshot wounds to the head reported by the Palmyra state hospital’s director Walid Audi. He said 46 civilians and seven soldiers were killed, with five people wounded and transferred to another hospital.
One of the survivors told SANA that ISIL fighters had burned their cars. If confirmed that ISIL was responsible, it would mark the deadliest attack by the group since January 2022 when its fighters stormed a prison in Hassakeh. The group has been using sleeper cells to wage hit-and-run attacks in Syria since losing control of vast swathes of territory in separate offensives by US-backed fighters, Syrian government forces backed by Russia, regional fighters and Turkish-backed rebels.
Many people have been targeted while truffle hunting in central, northeastern and eastern areas of Syria, with the Syrian government troops spread thin across the country and relying heavily on their allies – including Hezbollah and Iran – to maintain control over territory. The US Central Command also reported that four US military personnel were injured in a blast during a raid that killed a senior ISIL leader in Syria on Friday.