[10] In early July it released a graphic video showing 25 teenage members lining up 25 adult male captives dressed in dark fatigues, kneeling in front of them on the stage of the theatre.

"[13] Following the recapture of Palmyra by the Syrian Army with Russian air support in March 2016, drone footage showed that the theatre remained largely intact.

[15] On 5 May 2016, the 100th anniversary of Syria's Martyrs' Day, the theatre played host to two classical music concerts in remembrance of the victims of the civil war, including those executed at the site, and to celebrate its liberation.

[citation needed] The first, a 20-minute-long concert of European and Russian classical music, was played by the Mariinsky Theatre orchestra of St. Petersburg, conducted by Valery Gergiev, with soloist Sergei Roldugin.

[16] It was dedicated to Alexander Prokhorenko, a Russian special forces soldier who had sacrificed his life near Palmyra while directing air strikes against Islamic State.

[19] US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said of the event "I will never denounce an orchestra playing to the citizens of a beleaguered city.

"[20] The British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, called it a "tasteless attempt to distract attention from the continued suffering of millions of Syrians",[21] referring to an alleged Russian airstrike on a refugee camp in northern Syria, which killed at least 28 civilians.

Shortly after that, they completely destroyed the façade of the theatre according to Mamoun Abdulkarim, Director of the Syrian government agency of antiquities and museums.

[27] On 23 July 2023, the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums and the Institute for the History of Material Culture of Russian Academy of Sciences signed an agreement to start the comprehensive restoration of the theatre.