Landmine explosions kill 55 in Syria since beginning of 2023

Damascus: Landmine explosions in Syria have killed 55 people since the beginning of 2023, a war monitor reported.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the death toll includes two women and 18 children killed by the explosions of landmines that were undiscovered in previously rebel-held areas or battle zones.

The death toll also includes five people who were killed on Thursday in the Salamiyeh area in the central province of Hama, it added.

As many as 118 people, including 28 children and four women, were wounded by the landmine explosions during the same period, said the UK-based watchdog group.

The country’s official news agency SANA reported that the five victims were truffle collectors and were looking for the pricey fungus when a landmine left by the Islamic State (IS) terrorists exploded, Xinhua news agency reported.

Many of the landmine victims were farmers or workers collecting truffles in the desert region, who have become a target for IS militants.

In February, IS killed 64 truffle collectors in the desert region of eastern Syria.