Syrian activists say the Islamic State (IS) extremist group has shot dead some 20 men in the ruins of the central city of Palmyra.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS militants killed the men execution-style on May 27 in front of a crowd gathered in Palmyra's Roman theater, accusing them of being government supporters.
The IS group captured Palmyra from Syrian government forces on May 20, raising concern they would destroy priceless, 2,000-year-old temples, tombs, and colonnades located in the town's south.
They militants have since killed more than 220 people in and around the ancient city, according to the Observatory.
Also on May 27, the group said Kurdish forces retook 14 Assyrian Christian villages along the Khabur River in northeastern Syria. IS militants had seized the villages in February.