Baghdad, Aug 21 (IANS): Iraqi authorities on Sunday executed 36 insurgents of the Islamic State (IS) militant group held guilty of the 2014 Camp Speicher massacre in which close to 1,700 air force cadets were killed, the Ministry of Justice said.

"The ministry executed 36 prisoners in Nasriyah prison after they were found guilty of (the massacre at Camp) Speicher," Xinhua news agency reported.

On June 12, 2014, fighters of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, comprising mostly armed Sunni insurgents, launched a surprise offensive on Iraqi security forces and captured a large part of the country's northern and western territories after government troops abandoned their posts and military equipment.

ISIS fighters allegedly singled out Shia and non-Muslim cadets from Sunni ones and gunned them down at Camp Speicher, north of Tikrit, around 170 km north of Baghdad.

The IS terror group later posted video footage and images showing the execution of Iraqi soldiers.