Islamic State militants have kidnapped around 40 people in the central Syrian province of Hama and killed at least 15 of them, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The Islamic State was defeated in Syria in 2019, but is still active in both Syria and Iraq, in small parts of the territories it once considered its "caliphate" and held under its control.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as well as state media, the kidnappings in Hama took place on Thursday, and the bodies of those killed, some with their throats cut, were discovered today.

Among the dead are seven civilians and eight armed members of Syrian tribes, this organization claims.

The pro-government Sham FM radio reported that the extremists attacked the farmers while they were harvesting truffles, that some of the abductees had fallen as "martyrs", while contact with the others had been lost.

A sleeper cell of the Islamic State attacked people gathering truffles a month ago and killed 53 of them. Among the killed were workers, as well as members of the government security forces.

Truffles are a seasonal delicacy in Syria and can be sold at a high price.