Kin Of Slain U.S. Soldiers Sue Lafarge For Backing ISIS

Families of US servicemen killed by ISIS have sued Lafarge, the French conglomerate that pleaded guilty earlier this year to bribing the Islamic State group and the Al-Nusra Front to keep a cement plant running through the Syrian civil war, Aaron Katersky reported for ABC News.

Photo Insert: The guilty plea and a nearly $800 million fine were part of the US government's first-ever prosecution of a corporation for providing material support for terrorism.

The guilty plea and a nearly $800 million fine were part of the US government's first-ever prosecution of a corporation for providing material support for terrorism. The "economic self-interest" of Lafarge enabled the Islamic State group's slaughtering of innocent civilians, including Americans, their families said in a new lawsuit.

"Defendants' payments to and business partnership with ISIS provided ISIS the seed capital it needed to transform from a fledgling militia in the early 2010s into a brutal terroristic behemoth with the capability and intent to kill Americans," the lawsuit said.

The plaintiffs are the families of three US servicemen killed in attacks blamed on ISIS.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan of California was killed by an ISIS-planted IED in Iraq on Oct. 20, 2016. His widow and his parents said they have "experienced severe mental anguish, extreme emotional pain and suffering" since his death, according to the lawsuit.

Navy Senior Petty Officer Scott Cooper Dayton of Virginia was killed by an ISIS-planted IED in Ayn Issa, Syria, on Nov. 24, 2016.

His widow and children are among the plaintiffs. Former Marine David Berry was a 12-year combat veteran from Virginia and was killed by an ISIS attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Libya on Jan. 27, 2015. At the time, Berry was working for a private contractor.

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