Syrians rush to battle wildfires sweeping through wheat fields

STORY: :: Syrians scramble to extinguish wildfires sweeping through wheat fields :: Qamishli, Syria / June 23, 2026 The fires broke out as summer temperatures soared, threatening a critical harvest that officials hoped would mark a significant boost for the region’s agricultural output. Ahmed Jalal Al-Ahmad, a senior official at the Syrian Agriculture Ministry, told Reuters that the country was on track to harvest between 2.3 million and 2.5 million metric tons of wheat this year, a huge projected increase from last year’s figure of 900,000 metric tons.