Landmine left by ISIS kills 20 in Syria

A landmine left by ISIS struck a van packed with workers in eastern Syria on Sunday, killing more than 20 of them, Syria’s state news agency said. The agency earlier reported that 24 people were killed.

SANA said the explosion on Sunday morning near the central town of Salamiyeh was caused by explosives left behind by the extremists when they controlled the area. Another mine exploded in a nearby area earlier this month, killing seven people.

SANA said the workers hit by Sunday’s blast were heading out to pick desert truffles.

ISIS has been driven from virtually all the territory it once held in Syria and neighboring Iraq, but the extremists left behind countless bombs and booby traps, and large areas are yet to be cleared.

ISIS fighters are now cornered by US-backed Syrian forces in a small area near the Iraqi border.

An estimated 300 ISIS militants are besieged in the village of Baghouz, hemmed in by the Euphrates River and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia spearheading the fight against ISIS following an intense push since September.

Thousands of civilians have fled the area held by the extremists in recent weeks.

The presence of so many civilians – and possibly senior members of the extremist group – in Baghouz has surprised the SDF and slowed down the expected announcement of the extremist group’s territorial defeat.