ISIS-affiliated militants captured more than 300 workers and contractors at a cement factory, state news reported Thursday, in what appears to be another example of the terror group acting out against civilians — this time not far from Damascus.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported Thursday, citing a source in Syria’s Ministry of Industry, that the al-Badiyeh Cement Co. reported more than 300 people were being held by ISIS.
The company had not been in contact with its workers or contractors as of late Thursday afternoon.
Local official Nadim Kreizan told SANA that witnesses saw about 125 “abducted workers” being put on buses that headed toward areas more firmly under ISIS control.
Ramdi Abdulrahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told CNN that he believes 150 to 250 factory staffers were missing.
The factory is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Damascus, the Syrian capital and base of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.