<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">At least 53 people were killed Friday in an ambush in central Syria blamed on the Islamic State group, state media reported, the deadiest attack by the jihadists in more than a year.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"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.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The director of Palmyra hospital, Walid Audi, said those killed were 46 civilians and seven soldiers.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Audi told pro-government radio station Sham FM that their bodies had "been brought to the hospital after the ambush" that targeted dozens.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The jihadist group did not immediately claim the attack on its usual channels.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The resulting fighting inside the city killed 105 people, mostly civilians, as well as 268 jihadists.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- US kills IS leader -</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Separately on Friday, the US Central Command said four American military personnel were injured in a blast during a raid that killed a senior IS leader in Syria.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The IS leader, identified as Hamza al-Homsi, was killed, while the US troops and a working dog were being treated at an American medical facility in Iraq, it added.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Many people, including women and children, have been targeted in recent years while truffle hunting in central, northeastern and eastern areas of Syria.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Sixteen people, mostly civilians, were killed on Saturday in a similar attack targeting foragers in the same area, said the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Dozens of others were kidnapped in the attack, the Observatory said, adding that 25 of them were released on Friday but the fate of the others remains unknown.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">In April 2021, the extremist group launched a similar attack, abducting 19 people, mostly civilians, in the eastern countryside of Hama province.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Observatory said that IS was taking advantage of the annual harvest of desert truffles, which generally runs from February to April, to carry out attacks in remote locations.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">After the jihadists lost their last scraps of territory following a military onslaught backed by a US-led coalition in March 2019, IS remnants in Syria mostly retreated to hideouts in the desert.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">They have since used such hideouts to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops while continuing to mount attacks in neighbouring Iraq.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Syrian and Russian helicopters continue to launch air strikes targeting IS desert hideouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The United Nations has said that despite setbacks, the jihadist group has "maintained its ability to launch attacks at a steady pace".</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">It estimates the jihadist group maintains between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters inside Iraq and Syria, exploiting the porous border between the two countries and concentrating mainly in rural areas. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>