At least 53 civilians who were truffle hunting in Syria are killed in terror attack blamed on ISIS

• Islamic state killed 53 in Homs, Syria on Friday in deadliest attack in over a year
• Comes after ISIS leader killed in raid Hamza al-Hosi in northeast Syria

At least 53 civilians were killed on Friday in an ambush blamed on Islamic State jihadists in central Syria, state media reported.

The attack on a group searching for desert truffles in the province of Homs, is one the deadliest attack by the ISIS jihadists in more than a year.

IS did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack on its usual channels. They once controlled a large amount of territory there, but lost hold on land in separate offensives by US-backed fighters, government forces backed by Russia, regional militants and Turkish-sponsored rebels.

‘Fifty-three citizens who were truffle hunting were killed during an attack by the terrorists of IS to the southwest of the town of Al-Sokhna’ in the desert east of Homs, state television said.

The director of Palmyra state hospital, Walid Audi, said those killed were 46 civilians and seven soldiers.

Pictured: A masked Islamic State soldier poses holding the ISIL banner somewhere in the deserts of Iraq or Syria

The bodies of all victims taken to the hospital had gunshot wounds to the head, state news agency SANA said.

Audi told pro-government radio station Sham FM that their bodies had ‘been brought to the hospital after the ambush’ that targeted dozens.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the attack, which it said was carried out by jihadists on motorcycles who opened fire on the truffle hunters.

The jihadist group did not immediately claim the attack on its usual channels.

It was the deadliest attack by IS since January last year when they stormed a prison in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Hasakeh in a bid to free fellow jihadists.

The resulting fighting inside the city killed 105 people, mostly civilians, as well as 268 jihadists.

This comes after ISIS leader Hamza al-Hosi was killed in Syria in a helicopter raid carried out by US and Syrian forces.

US soldiers in Syria in a file photo from December 2021. A raid last night in an unknown part of Syria killed an ISIS leader and led to four US servicemembers being injured 

Four active service members were injured, along with a dog, and all are receiving treatment in Iraq.

They suffered blast injuries from an explosion. It’s unclear what the cause of that explosion was. US Central Command announced the raid on Friday in a statement.

‘Last night, during a partnered US and Syrian Democratic Forces helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, an explosion on target resulted in four US servicemembers and one working dog wounded.

‘The targeted ISIS leader, Hamza al-Homsi, was killed.

‘The servicemembers and working dog are receiving treatment in a US medical facility in Iraq,’ it said.

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