The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today published its latest report in its
multi-year study of ISIS’s ongoing insurgency in central Syria, “Unsolved
Murders In Syria’s Badia: Truffle Hunters In The Crosshairs And ISIS At Large,”
which addresses nearly 50 attacks since February 2023 against civilians, many
of whom were seeking to supplement their income through the collection and sale
of truffles. Others targeted include shepherds and travelers killed by gunfire
or mines. 200 civilians were killed, 80 wounded, and as many as 47 kidnapped in
recent weeks.





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New CEP Report: Unsolved Murders In Syria’s Badia

Truffle Hunters In The Crosshairs And ISIS At Large



(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today published its
latest report in its multi-year study of ISIS’s ongoing insurgency in central
Syria, “Unsolved Murders In Syria’s Badia: Truffle Hunters In The Crosshairs
And ISIS At Large
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,”which addresses nearly 50 attacks since February 2023 against civilians, many
of whom were seeking to supplement their income through the collection and sale
of truffles. Others targeted include shepherds and travelers killed by gunfire
or mines. 200 civilians were killed, 80 wounded, and as many as 47 kidnapped in
recent weeks.



No group has claimed responsibility for the surge in civilian attacks in
central Syria, leaving people pointing fingers at Iranian militias, ISIS, or
criminals. Syrian opposition media outlets have cast blame on “Iranian
militias” rather than ISIS, citing past atrocities, and some local
Facebook-based news outlets have published reports insistent that Iranians and
their Afghan and Pakistani foreign fighters committed these attacks.
Additionally, interviews conducted with locals for this report confirmed a
standing Iranian presence across central Syria.



Some, however, are more circumspect in assigning responsibility for the
attacks to Iran and suggest that because the locations of the attacks and
subsequent chaos are favorable to ISIS that ISIS is most likely responsible.
The terrorist group has for years used sheep theft to fund its insurgency, has
used kidnapping for ransom and terror, and is incentivized to keep civilians
out of regions where its fighters are based or use as transit.



“There is extensive circumstantial evidence that points to ISIS, but criminal
gangs and pro-regime forces can never be completely ruled out,” said CEP
research analyst Gregory Waters. “Regardless, the shooting and kidnapping of
locals, not to mention the near daily tragedy of locals killed by mines, will
continue to push civilians out of their villages for the safety of larger towns
and deepen distrust between locals and security forces. All of this will
strengthen ISIS’s ability to transit the region at will and engage in black
market financial operations with the local illicit economy.”



To read the CEP report, Unsolved Murders In Syria’s Badia: Truffle Hunters In
The Crosshairs And ISIS At Large,please click here
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.



To listen to CEP Research Analyst Gregory Waters on BBC Newshour, please click
here <[link removed]>.



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