Syria: Over 200 workers and contractors from the Al-Badiyeh Cement Company have been kidnapped by a group affiliated to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Ministry of Industry said in a statement to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the Ministry has been in contact with the company’s administration to inquire about the abductees and to lobby for their release. So far no contact has been made.
SANA also reported that a local reconciliation official in Jeiroud, where the cement plant is located, saw around 125 of the company’s abducted workers being transported on board ISIS vehicles that headed towards Tal Dakweh on the outskirts of eastern Ghouta, a region where ISIS groups are active.