Islamic State begins beheading regime fighters in Palmyra

From the Telegraph

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) jihadists executed a group of pro-Assad regime fighters, beheading some of them, after seizing Palmyra with its ancient ruins, according to reports and pictures from the town.

A picture sent by activists to a Western journalist showed a row of men in a street in Palmyra – known locally by its Arabic name Tadmur – lying in a pool of blood. At least four of the men had been decapitated.

Other activists in the town told contacts elsewhere that the dead men were members of the Shaitat tribe, an anti-Isil Sunni clan from eastern Syria. 

In a separate report, the anti-Isil activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said that the group had executed another member of the Shaitat tribe from Abu Hamam town in Deir Ez-zour province with a rocket-propelled grenade. The jihadists were shown laughing and cheering as one of the men lectures the young man, tied to a pole, then retreats and fires the bazooka. They then kick the body of the man, named as Ibrahim Shraideh. 

Assad regime troops fled Palmyra on Wednesday evening in the face of a concerted Isil attack that had seen hand-to-hand fighting earlier in the day. Troops were withdrawn from round the ancient Greco-Roman ruins which made Palmyra famous around the world. Isil moved into the site around midnight, according to reports and a statement on pro-Isil social media.

There were no claims yet that Isil had started to damage the site. However, one of its most prominent features is the Temple of Baal, which would be regarded as idolatrous and thus a prime target for the jihadists.