Syrian troops have found a mass grave containing the bodies of 42 people executed by Islamic State jihadists in Palmyra, as Washington warned the group’s leader will eventually “taste justice”.
ISIS has in recent months claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in Brussels and Paris, but has lost ground in Syria and Iraq. Days after Syrian troops backed by Russian forces recaptured Palmyra and its ancient ruins, the army “uncovered a mass grave of officers, soldiers, members of the popular committees (pro-regime militia) and their relatives,” a military source said.
Twenty-four of the victims were civilians, including three children, he said, asking not to be named. “They were executed either by beheading or by shooting.” The bodies, which were found yesterday, have been transferred to a military hospital in the provincial capital Homs and some have been identified.
In a major symbolic and strategic coup for President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian army on Sunday recaptured Palmyra and its UNESCO World Heritage Site, which IS had overrun in May 2015.