Islamic State accused of killing truffle hunters in Syria

At least 53 people have been killed by the Islamic State jihadist militant group in Syria, state media reports.

The group were reportedly searching for desert truffles when they were targeted in the province of Homs.

The director of Palmyra hospital said 46 civilians and seven soldiers were killed. The bodies of all victims had gunshot wounds to the head, state news agency SANA reported.

The jihadist group did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) - which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria - said the attack was carried out by jihadists on motorcycles who opened fire on the truffle hunters.

The group has targeted truffle hunters before in Syria.

Sixteen people, mostly civilians, were killed last Saturday in a similar attack targeting foragers in the same area, the SOHR said.

Years of conflict have ravaged parts of the country that remain under the control of rebels, who are battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad. His government is under Western sanctions.

Syria has been dealing with effects of a 12-year long civil war, which broke out in 2011 after pro-democracy demonstrations were met by deadly force from the government.

The Syrian conflict has left half a million people dead, devastated cities, and drawn in other countries.

In 2014, the Islamic State seized large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, imposing its brutal rule on almost eight million people.

The group was driven from its last piece of territory in 2019, but the UN has warned that it remains a persistent threat.