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A mine warning sign near the border between Syria and Israel
Photo: xWirestockx / Pond5 Images / IMAGO
According to activists, at least 19 people were killed by a landmine in Syria while searching for truffles.
As the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced, the small truck in which the truffle hunters were traveling in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa hit a mine.
Twelve of the 19 dead were women.
Several other people were injured.
According to the Observatory, there were a total of more than 20 civilians in the small truck.
Between February and April, many people in Syria go to the Badia Desert to collect truffles.
The mushrooms can be sold easily in the impoverished country, but the search is dangerous.
The Islamic State jihadist militia is still active in Raqqa, and large areas of land are mined.
The authorities have therefore repeatedly warned against collecting.
At the beginning of March, gunmen believed to be linked to ISIS shot and killed 18 truffle collectors in an attack in the desert, according to the Observatory.
In February, according to state media, 14 people were killed while searching for truffles in the desert of Raqqa and detonating a mine planted by IS.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is based in the UK and obtains its information from various sources in Syria.
Your information can hardly be verified by an independent party.
svs/AFP