65 bodies found executed in Syria

The bodies of at least 65 young men, all executed with a single gunshot to the head or neck, were found on Tuesday in a river in Aleppo city, adding to the grim list of massacres committed during Syria’s 22-month conflict.

The gruesome discovery came as international envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi was scheduled to brief the United Nations Security Council in New York.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 65 bodies were found in the Quweiq River, which separates the Bustan al-Qasr district from Ansari in the southwest of the city, but that the toll could rise significantly.
A Free Syrian Army officer at the scene said at least 68 bodies had been recovered and that many more were still being dragged from the water, in a rebel-held area.

A senior government security source said many of the victims were from Bustan al-Qasr and had been reported kidnapped earlier. He accused “terrorists,” the standard regime term for people fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, of the killings and spreading propaganda to deflect responsibility.

“It has been confirmed that a number of the victims had been abducted by armed terrorist groups and their families had made repeated attempts to negotiate their releases.

An AFP correspondent saw at least 15 bodies on a truck.

“My brother disappeared weeks ago when he was crossing (through) the regime-held zone, and we don’t know where he is or what has become of him,” said Mohammed Abdel Aziz, a local resident, as he looked at the mud-covered bodies one by one.