Italian engineer, 2 others abducted in Syria

ROME - An Italian engineer and two other people were abducted in Syria, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Monday.

Mario Belluomo from Sicily island was kidnapped along with two other people of different nationalities, according to the statement.

The three were colleagues of the same steel plant near the town of Latakia, Syria's main port city.

Italy's Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said that he was working with all the "channels" and the "facilities of the state involved" to ensure the safety and release of the Italian, adding he would not provide further details in order to protect the abducted.

Terzi said that since November 2011, his government has achieved the liberation of 27 Italian nationals kidnapped abroad, of which two were abducted in Syria and released after one week in July.

Another Italian from Sicily, Giovanni Lo Porto, is still awaiting liberation in Pakistan after he disappeared from the central city of Multan last January.