Landmine explosion kills 6 civilians in eastern Syria

ANKARA

Six civilians were killed in a landmine explosion in the countryside of Deir Ez-Zor province in eastern Syria on Monday, according to the state news agency SANA.

SANA said the explosion took place as people were searching for truffles in al-Bishri district, south of Deir Ez-zor countryside.

The landmine was planted by Daesh/ISIS terrorists, the agency said.

At least 3,353 civilians have been killed in landmine explosions in war-torn Syria since 2011, according to the UK-based Syrian Network for Human Rights.

Deir ez-Zor, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, is currently under the control of the Syrian regime after the withdrawal of the Daesh/ISIS terrorists from the province in November 2017.

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN estimates.

*Ikram Kouachi in Ankara contributed to this report.