47 bodies found after 'massacre' in Homs

BEIRUT: The bodies of 47 women and children have been found in the Syrian city of Homs, where security forces have been fighting raging battles against armed rebels, activists and state television said on Monday.

Hadi Abdallah, a Syrian activist in Homs, told AFP the bodies of 26 children and 21 women, some with their throats cut and others bearing stab wounds, were found after a "massacre" in the Karm el-Zaytoun and Al-Adawiyeh neighbourhoods of the besieged central city.

State television blamed "armed terrorist gangs" for the killings, saying they had kidnapped residents of Homs, killed them and then made video footage of the bodies in an attempt to discredit Syrian forces.