New ISIS video shows child militants execute 25 government soldiers at Roman amphitheater.
BEIRUT (PPD/AP) — The Islamic State (ISIS) has released a video allegedly showing the execution of 25 government soldiers in the historic town of Palmyra in central Syria. Islamic State executioners in the video appear around 10-years old in the roughly ten-minute long video that ends with 25 Syrian soldiers being shot in the head at Tadmur’s ancient Roman amphitheater.
Soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are shown being put into pickup trucks from the notorious Tadmur prison and then being transported to Palmyra’s Roman amphitheater, where a crowd of hundreds of local residents are seen waiting for the execution. The captives are then paraded on the stage and made to stand behind a huge ISIS black flag.
Hundreds of people were seen watching the execution, but U.S. officials told PPD it is not clear when it took place. However, the Associated Press reported in May that scores of troops and state employees were killed after the Islamic State group captured the town.
Palmyra is a UNESCO world heritage site famous for its 2,000-year-old Roman colonnades, other ruins and priceless artifacts.
