Eight dead in attacks, mine explosions across Syria

Eight civilians have been killed across Syria as a result of attacks and mine explosions, The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed has reported.

Three civilians were killed in an attack in Homs, while six others died in mine explosions near the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Deir Ezzor.

Since this year began, hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured as a result of explosions of mines and ordnance across Syria. The country marked 12 years of conflict last March. 

People looking for prized truffles in the Syrian desert in particular have been targeted by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

Unidentified people, believed to be members of IS, killed three truffle hunters north of Palmyra in the Syrian desert, local sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Two children were also killed in a mine explosion while they were grazing sheep in Aleppo province.

Three people searching for truffles also died after a mine, allegedly left behind by IS, also exploded on Tuesday in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, activist Abu Muhammad Al-Jazrawi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

An additional six truffle pickers were also killed last Saturday in the Homs province after a mine explosion.

Syria remains unstable despite a relative lull in fighting. The country's conflict began in 2011 after a brutal regime crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Thousands of civilians have been killed by mines during the war in Syria, a rights group said on the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action earlier this month.

 These include 889 children and 335 women, according to the Paris-based group's report, while eight medics, seven civil defence workers, and nine journalists were also killed.

The deadliest year for landmine casualties was 2017, when 822 people (27.67 percent of the total of 2,971) lost their lives.

Over 500,000 people have been killed in total since the Syrian conflict began, the majority of them in bombardment by the regime and its ally Russia.