Landmine explosion kills 6 civilians in eastern Syria

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 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 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.

READ: 3,400 Syrian civilians killed by landmines since 2011