Fourteen people collecting truffles in the Syrian desert were killed on Sunday in the explosion of a landmine left by the Islamic State (ISIS), the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 13 civilians were killed while foraging for truffles. The governor of Raqqa said eight people were also wounded in the explosion in the Raqqa desert.
SANA reported five people who were hunting for truffles were killed on Saturday in a similar incident when a landmine placed by ISIS exploded in the vicinity of Tal Salamah in the countryside of Hama in the west of Syria.
Truffle hunters brave the risks every year from February to April, despite warnings from the government, in order to collect the high-value product in the northern Syrian desert
