ISIS captures hundreds of Syrian cement factory workers, report says

ISIS-affiliated militants captured more than
300 workers and contractors at a cement factory in
Syria, state news reported Thursday.
Al-Badiyeh Cement Co. said the militants were
holding the workers and contractors from the plant
near Damascus, according to the state-run Syrian
Arab News Agency, citing a source in Syria's Ministry
of Industry.
The company had not been in contact with staff as
of late Thursday afternoon.
Local official Nadim Kreizan told SANA that
witnesses saw about 125 "abducted workers" being
put on buses headed toward areas more firmly under
ISIS control.
Ramdi Abdulrahman, head of the London-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told CNN he
believes 150 to 250 factory employees were missing.
The observatory later said that at least 140
employees of the factory were able to escape during
the attack, while no less than 170 were captured.
The factory is in Al-Dhmeir, a town 48 kilometers
(about 30 miles) northeast of Damascus, the Syrian
capital and the base of President Bashar al-Assad's
government.
Envoy: Peace talks to resume next
week
Civilians have been caught in the middle of Syria's 5-
year-long civil war. ISIS has been accused of
committing atrocities such as systematic rapes,
killings and abductions and using the Syrian people
as human shields.
The conflict has left more than 250,000 people dead,
more then 1 million injured and more than 11 million
displaced in and outside the country, according to
the United Nations .
Key parties in the fighting are slated to take part in
resumed peace talks next week in Geneva,
Switzerland, said Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. envoy
to Syria. (ISIS and al Qaeda-affiliated al Nusra Front
are not part of the talks.)
Talking to reporters Thursday, de Mistura said
negotiations should begin as soon as Monday. Syrian
government officials may not arrive in Geneva until
April 14 or 15 after parliamentary elections -- though
the U.N. envoy downplayed the significance of their
absence, noting that these "proximity talks" don't
involve all players sitting face to face in the same
room.
De Mistura spoke of pushing toward a "political
transition" in Syria, a change Western governments
and Syrian rebels have championed.
But Assad has steadfastly refused to step down as
President though he's opened the door to having
opposition figures in the governm
CNN's Nic Robertson contributed to this report.ISIS-affiliated militants captured more than
300 workers and contractors at a cement factory in
Syria, state news reported Thursday.
Al-Badiyeh Cement Co. said the militants were
holding the workers and contractors from the plant
near Damascus, according to the state-run Syrian
Arab News Agency, citing a source in Syria's Ministry
of Industry.
The company had not been in contact with staff as
of late Thursday afternoon.
Local official Nadim Kreizan told SANA that
witnesses saw about 125 "abducted workers" being
put on buses headed toward areas more firmly under
ISIS control.
Ramdi Abdulrahman, head of the London-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told CNN he
believes 150 to 250 factory employees were missing.
The observatory later said that at least 140
employees of the factory were able to escape during
the attack, while no less than 170 were captured.
The factory is in Al-Dhmeir, a town 48 kilometers
(about 30 miles) northeast of Damascus, the Syrian
capital and the base of President Bashar al-Assad's
government.
Envoy: Peace talks to resume next
week
Civilians have been caught in the middle of Syria's 5-
year-long civil war. ISIS has been accused of
committing atrocities such as systematic rapes,
killings and abductions and using the Syrian people
as human shields.
The conflict has left more than 250,000 people dead,
more then 1 million injured and more than 11 million
displaced in and outside the country, according to
the United Nations .
Key parties in the fighting are slated to take part in
resumed peace talks next week in Geneva,
Switzerland, said Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. envoy
to Syria. (ISIS and al Qaeda-affiliated al Nusra Front
are not part of the talks.)
Talking to reporters Thursday, de Mistura said
negotiations should begin as soon as Monday. Syrian
government officials may not arrive in Geneva until
April 14 or 15 after parliamentary elections -- though
the U.N. envoy downplayed the significance of their
absence, noting that these "proximity talks" don't
involve all players sitting face to face in the same
room.
De Mistura spoke of pushing toward a "political
transition" in Syria, a change Western governments
and Syrian rebels have championed.
But Assad has steadfastly refused to step down as
President though he's opened the door to having
opposition figures in the government
source-CNN