Syria regime troops have executed 16 people in Damascus — rights group

Loyalist militiamen kill 16 in Damascus, and an Iran Press TV reporter has been killed

Last updated: September 26, 2012 | 13:32

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Fierce fighting inside army HQ in Damascus: rights group says.

Also on Wednesday morning Press TV reported that an Iran Press TV reporter killed and an Al Alam reporter wounded in Syria.

And a Syrian statement said several guards at the military headquarters in Damascus had been wounded in blasts, but military leaders were unhurt.

The news followed earlier reports that pro-government militiamen executed at least 16 civilians in their homes in Damascus before dawn on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Militiamen burst into their homes in the Barzeh neighbourhood at 5am (0200 GMT) and shot them dead," Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.

He said those killed included six women and three children.

A woman cries while holding the body of her brother, who was killed by Syrian Army, in front of Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. Over the past few months, rebels have increasingly targeted security sites and symbols of regime power in a bid to turn the tide in Syria's 18-month conflict, which activists say has left some 30,000 people dead.(AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

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