President Bashar Assad on Saturday replaced Syria's communications and religious affairs ministers, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Assad issued a decree naming Imad Abdul-Ghani Sabbouni as minister of communications, replacing Amr Nazir Salem. He also replaced Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Ziyad al-Ayoubi, who held the post since October 2004, with Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayed, SANA said. Sabbouni had been Salem's adviser, while al-Sayed was al-Ayoubi's deputy and the mufti of the coastal Tartous province in northern Syria. The news agency did not give a reason for the Cabinet changes.