250 Syrians missing after ISIL attack east of Damascus: residents

Around 250 Syrian civilians are feared kidnapped after an attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group on a cement factory east of Damascus, residents told AFP on April 7.  

"We haven't been able to reach our family members since noon of April 4 after an attack by Daesh on the factory," said a resident of the town of Dmeir, 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Damascus, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.    

"We have no information about where they are," the resident added.    

An administrator at the plant said 250 employees had been unreachable since April 4.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "dozens" of staff were believed to have been seized by ISIL from the cement factory and taken to an unknown location.    

The Badiyah cement factory lies outside Dmeir, which has seen fierce fighting in recent days as government forces have shelled ISIL positions inside the town.    

 The Observatory said 18 civilians were killed in government shelling of the town.    

A Syrian security source told AFP that ISIL militants had also tried to seize the nearby Dmeir airbase and power plant from the government but had failed.  
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