ISIS Attacks on Syria Truffle Hunters are Deadliest in a Year

File photo: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP
File photo: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP
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ISIS Attacks on Syria Truffle Hunters are Deadliest in a Year

File photo: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP
File photo: Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces secure the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Qaim in Anbar province in Iraq | AFP

The ISIS group has carried out its deadliest attacks in more than a year, killing dozens of civilians and security officers in the deserts of central Syria, even as people of northern Syria have been digging out of the wreckage from the region’s devastating earthquake.

The bloodshed was a reminder of the persistent threat from ISIS, whose sleeper cells still terrorize populations nearly four years after the group was defeated in Syria, The Associated Press said.

The attacks also underscored the extremists’ limitations. ISIS militants have found refuge in the remote deserts of Syria’s interior and along the Iraqi-Syrian border. From there, they lash out against civilians and security forces in both countries. But they are also hemmed in by opponents on all sides: Syrian government troops as well as Kurdish-led fighters who control eastern Syria and are backed by US forces. American raids with their Kurdish-led allies have repeatedly killed or caught ISIS leaders and, earlier this month, killed two senior ISIS figures.

The ISIS attacks this month were largely against a very vulnerable target: Syrians hunting truffles in the desert.

The truffles are a seasonal delicacy that can be sold for a high price. Since the truffle hunters work in large groups in remote areas, ISIS militants in previous years have repeatedly preyed on them, emerging from the desert to abduct them, kill some and ransom others for money.

On Feb. 11, ISIS fighters kidnapped about 75 truffle hunters outside the town of Palmyra. At least 16 were killed, including a woman and security officers, 25 were released and the rest remain missing.

Six days later, on Friday, they attacked a group of truffle hunters outside the desert town of Sukhna, just up the highway from Palmyra, and fought with troops at a security checkpoint close by. At least 61 civilians and seven soldiers were killed. Many of the truffle hunters in the group work for three local businessmen close to the Syrian military and pro-government militias, which may have prompted ISIS to target them, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, and the Palmyra News Network, an activist collective that covers developments in the desert areas.
Smaller attacks around the area killed 12 other people, including soldiers, pro-government fighters and civilians.

The area is far from the northern regions devastated by the Feb. 6 earthquake that killed more than 46,000 people in Türkiye and Syria. Still, ISIS fighters “took advantage of the earthquake to send a message that the organization is still present,” said Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Observatory.

Friday’s attack in Sukhna was the group’s deadliest since January 2022, when ISIS gunmen stormed a prison in the northeastern city of Hassakeh that held some 3,000 militants and juveniles. Ten days of battles between the militants and US-backed fighters left nearly 500 dead.

The prison attack raised fears ISIS was staging a comeback. But it was followed by a series of blows against the group, which reverted to its drumbeat of smaller-scale shootings and bombings.

It’s too early to say if the new spate of attacks marks a new resurgence, said Aaron Y. Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“It’s the biggest attack in a while. So the question is if it’s just a one-off attack or if they are reactivating capabilities,” said Zelin, who closely follows militant groups.

He said ISIS fighters have been less active every year since 2019 and noted that the recent attacks hit civilians, not tougher security targets.

In 2014, ISIS overran large swaths of Syria and Iraq and declared the entire territory a “caliphate,” where it imposed a radically brutal rule. The US and its allies in Syria and Iraq, as well as Syria's Russian-backed government troops, fought against it for years, eventually rolling it back but also leaving tens of thousands dead and cities in ruins. The group was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017, then in Syria two years later.

In 2019, many thought that ISIS was finished after it lost the last sliver of land it controlled, its founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a US raid and an international crackdown on social media pages linked to the extremists limited its propaganda and recruitment campaigns.

Another US raid about a year ago killed al-Baghdadi’s successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. His replacement was killed in battle with rebels in southern Syria in October.

The newest ISIS leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi, may be trying to show his strength with the latest attacks, said Abdullah Suleiman Ali, a Syrian researcher. The leaders' names are pseudonyms and don't refer to a family relation.

“The new leader has to take measures to prove himself within the organization … (to show) that the group under the new leadership is capable and strong,” Ali said.

American troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces eliminated a series of senior ISIS figures this month, according to the US military. On Feb, 10, they killed Ibrahim Al Qahtani, suspected of planning last year’s prison attack, then eight days later they captured an ISIS official allegedly involved in planning attacks and manufacturing bombs. Last week, a senior ISIS commander, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed in a raid that also left four American service-members wounded.

But ISIS remains a threat, according to UN, US and Kurdish officials.

It is estimated to have 5,000 to 7,000 members and supporters – around half of them fighters -- in Iraq and Syria, according to a UN report this month. ISIS uses desert hideouts “for remobilization and training purposes” and has spread cells of 15 to 30 people each to other parts of the country, particularly the southern province of Daraa.

SDF spokesman Siamand Ali said ISIS persistently plots attacks in Kurdish-run eastern Syria.
He pointed to an attempted attack by ISIS fighters on SDF security headquarters in the city of Raqqa in December. SDF sweeps since then have captured ISIS operatives and weapons caches, he said. This is a sign the group was close to carrying out large operations, he said.

ISIS in particular aims to storm SDF-run prisons to free militants, he said. Some 10,000 ISIS fighters, including about 2,000 foreigners, are held in the more than two dozen Kurdish-run detention facilities.

Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of the US Central Command or CENTCOM, said in a statement this month that ISIS “continues to represent a threat to not only Iraq and Syria, but to the stability and security of the region.”



Israel Far Right Presses Netanyahu for Decisive Win Against Hamas

People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo
People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo
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Israel Far Right Presses Netanyahu for Decisive Win Against Hamas

People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo
People protest against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza, at Potsdamer Platz, in Berlin, Germany, August 3, 2025. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo

Israel's far right pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go harder against Hamas, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting Sunday on the premier's plan to conquer Gaza City.

Over 22 months into the war in Gaza, Israel is gripped by a yawning divide, pitting those calling for an end of the conflict along with a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see Hamas vanquished once and for all.

The debate has only intensified after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet announced plans Friday to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City.

While thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv Saturday night to protest the cabinet's decision, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video online, slamming Netanyahu's decision on Gaza as half-hearted, AFP reported.

"The prime minister and the cabinet gave in to weakness. Emotion overcame reason, and they once again chose to do more of the same -- launching a military operation whose goal is not decisive victory, but rather to apply limited pressure on Hamas in order to bring about a partial hostage deal," Smotrich said.

"They decided once again to repeat the same approach, embarking on a military operation that does not aim for a decisive resolution."

Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a press conference with international media at 4:30 pm local time (13:30 GMT) on Sunday -- his first since the security cabinet decision.

The far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet, including Smotrich, have maintained considerable influence in the premier's coalition government throughout the war -- with their support seen as vital to holding at least 61 seats for a parliamentary majority.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, also of the far right, told Kan radio on Sunday: "It is possible to achieve victory. I want all of Gaza, transfer and colonisation. This plan will not endanger the troops."

In Tel Aviv, demonstrators held up pictures of hostages still in Gaza, calling on the government to secure their release.

"We will end with a direct message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: if you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place," Shahar Mor Zahiro, the relative of a slain hostage, told AFP.

The cabinet's decision to expand the war in Gaza has meanwhile touched off a wave of criticism across the globe.

On Sunday, the UN Security Council is set to meet to discuss the latest development.

Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated truce to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the territory following repeated warnings of famine taking hold.

Despite the backlash and rumors of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained firm.

In a post on social media late Friday, Netanyahu said "we are not going to occupy Gaza -- we are going to free Gaza from Hamas".

The premier has faced regular protests over the course of the war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a deal after past truces saw hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.

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Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.

According to Gaza's civil defence agency, at least 27 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory Sunday, including 11 who were waiting near aid distribution centres.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.