Syrian activists say IS has killed 12 captives in Palmyra

BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has killed 12 people it held captive in Syria's ancient Palmyra by shooting and beheading them, with some of the slayings carried out in the city's second-century Roman amphitheater, activists said today.

The extremist group had recaptured the city in December from government troops – nine months after IS was expelled from there in a Russia-backed offensive and while Syrian government forces were focused on retaking the eastern half of the city of Aleppo from rebels.

When they previously controlled Palmyra, IS militants had used the Roman amphitheater for public killings, including those in a video showing 25 boys with pistols shooting captured Syrian soldiers, the ancient colonnades visible in the background.

The Islamic State group has also destroyed ancient temples and other relics in the past, triggering fears among experts for remaining antiquities in the city. The city has been largely emptied out of its residents, following the government offensive in March last year.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and another activist network, the Palmyra Monitor, said the 12 captives were killed on Wednesday. They were captured as they tried to escape the IS offensive on Palmyra last month.