Twenty-five Syrian civilians were killed and several others injured in separate incidents related to terrorist groups across the provinces of Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Homs, and Hama.

Truffle hunters have faced life-threatening difficulties recently, either due to leftover mines planted by terrorist militants or direct gunfire from groups believed to be affiliated with the terrorist organization ISIS.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Sunday that 14 citizens were killed and eight others were injured after a landmine left by ISIS terrorists exploded while they were collecting truffles in the Raqa desert. 12 others died on Saturday in separate incidents across multiple provinces, including five in an ISIS terrorist shooting attack in the eastern countryside of Homs.

Weighed down by sanctions

Truffle season typically begins in February and lasts until the end of April.

The Syrian desert is renowned for producing some of the best quality truffles in the world, which fetch high prices in a country battered by 13 years of war and a crushing economic crisis caused by US sanctions.

Many locals participate in the harvesting season, given the high selling value of the mushrooms, particularly since they grow in uninhabited desert areas and communal property areas.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense released footage on Sunday of a number of "top-tier and concentrated operations" conducted against terrorist organizations in the countryside of Idlib and Lattakia.

These operations came in response to several continued breaches and violations attributed to militant terror groups in the aforementioned regions.

The Ministry explained that terror groups have launched several recent attacks on Syrian towns and villages, adding that its operations come in response to these attacks. The Syrian military's response led to the killing and wounding of dozens of terrorists.

#وزارة_الدفاع تنشر مشاهد من عمليات نوعية مركزة نفذتها وحدات من قواتنا المسلحة ضد نقاط الإرهابيين وتحصيناتهم في ريفي إدلب واللاذقية الشمالي pic.twitter.com/tZwvUlwPQI

— الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء - سانا (@SanaAjel) February 25, 2024