The Islamic State in Syria makes cash with truffle hunters. Escalation of kidnappings in southeast Aleppo. For pro-ISIS militiamen, ransom money is essential to survive. Especially after SDF-Inherent Resolve pressing

The Islamic State in eastern Syria is trying to cash in on truffle hunters. In the last month there has been an escalation of civilian abductions in the desert southeast of Aleppo. The last one took place just a few days ago and 26, including some women, were taken by pro-ISIS jihadists. The purpose of the militiamen is to recover money through ransoms to finance their livelihood and operations. Especially in a delicate moment like this for the group, whose leadership and logistic network are heavily under attack by the SDF and Inherent Resolve with targeted raids, which are progressively and systematically dismantling the IS chain of command in the quadrant. Indeed, in February, 15 joint operations and two exclusively US operations were carried out which led to the death of five pro-ISIS operatives and the capture of eleven others.