The Islamic State militants released footage on Saturday, July 4, of a mass execution of a group of 25 Syrian government soldiers in the historic amphitheater in the city of Palmyra.
The video, posted on Twitter, shows soldiers lined up on their knees being shot dead on the amphitheater's stage by boys, who appear to be in their teens.
The killings took place before an audience of men and some children, who were "called to watch" the spectacle, watching in the seats of the ancient theater among ISIS militants.
A leader begins to speak to the audience in front of a huge ISIS flag, and on his command, the soldiers are executed simultaneously with a shot to the head.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group monitoring the conflict in Syria, the Islamic State has reportedly carried out more than 200 executions in and around Palmyra since the city's capture in May. The first of the executions was reported on May 27, which was less than a week after IS captured the city.
Along with its mass killings, ISIS has also utilized its control over ancient treasures in Syria and Iraq as part of its propaganda campaign, and recently has boasted over its destruction of archaeological treasures at the Palmyra site as a "perverse"¦new attempt to break the bonds between people and their history, to deprive them of their cultural roots in order to better enslave them" - a response from Irina Bokova, who is the head of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Among the ancient treasures destroyed so far is the Lion Statue of Athena, which dates back to the first century AD, and is considered to be one of the most notable of treasures lost within the city. Bokova expressed, "These new destructions of cultural goods of the site of Palmyra reflect the brutality and ignorance of extremist groups and their disregard of local communities and of the Syrian people."
ISIS fighters have asserted that they would "pulverize" any statues that they believe citizens are secretly praying to.
In recent weeks, ISIS militants have kidnapped over 500 children from Iraq's Anbar and Diyala provinces, and Iraqi police chiefs have expressed fear that the children will be brainwashed to take part in ISIS activity. The usage of children has become increasingly popular. Dubbed "caliphate cubs," children are being used as suicide bombers, soldiers, and executioners, and authorities fear that the use of children will only continue in coming months.
Brandon Cho is a student volunteer writer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
