On March 11, terrorists believed to be members of ISIS attacked a group of civilians who were collecting truffles near Khanaser town in the southern countryside of Aleppo in Syria’s central region.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the terrorists “slaughtered” three of the civilians, all young men, and abducted 26 others, including women. The London-based monitoring group said that the attack took place near a position of Iranian-backed forces, who maintain a large presence on the strategic road leading to Khanaser and from there to Aleppo city.
ISIS cells in central Syria escalated their attacks against government forces and civilians in the region in the last few months.
Just a day earlier, a pro-government fighter was killed and ten civilians were wounded in two separate attacks that took place near the town of Kobajjep in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor and in the area of al-Bruk in the governorate’s southern countryside. Both attacks were blamed on ISIS.
At least 94 civilians have been killed by ISIS cells in the central region since the start of the year. Most of the victims were truffle hunters, shepherds or travelers. The group didn’t claim responsibility for any of the recent attacks.
The SAA and its allies, including Iranian-backed forces and the Russian military, are now reportedly preparing to step up operations against ISIS cells in the central region.
Source: South Front
