Syria: TV station attacked, 3 staffers killed

In this image made from amateur video released by the Shaam News Network and accessed Tuesday, June 26, 2012, smoke rises from buildings following purported shelling in Homs, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

In this image made from amateur video released by the Shaam News Network and accessed Tuesday, June 26, 2012, smoke rises from buildings following purported shelling in Homs, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, purports to show anti-Syrian regime mourners carrying the coffins of Syrian citizens wrapped with Syrian revolutionary flags who were killed by the Syrian forces shelling, in Daraa, southern Syria, Tuesday June 26, 2012. Syria's elite Republican Guard forces clashed with rebels just outside Damascus Tuesday in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces guarding the capital since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began last year, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, purports to show an anti-Syrian regime man, center, spraying water over mourners to cool them from the heat as they carry the coffins of Syrian citizens who were killed by the Syrian forces shelling during heir funeral procession, in Daraa, southern Syria, Tuesday June 26, 2012. Syria's elite Republican Guard forces clashed with rebels just outside Damascus Tuesday in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces guarding the capital since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began last year, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early Wednesday, demolishing the building and killing three employees, the state media reported. Officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press."

SANA added that the attack on Ikhbariya TV occurred in the town of Drousha, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) south of the capital Damascus. Hours after the attack, the station was still on the air broadcasting its programs.

Ikhbariya is privately-owned but strongly supports President Bashar Assad's regime. Pro-government journalists have been targeted on several previous occasions during the 15-month uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime, although such incidents are comparatively rare.

Earlier this month, two Ikhbariya employees were shot and seriously wounded by gunmen in the northwestern town of Haffa while covering clashes between government troops and insurgents.

Rebels deny they target the media. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the raid and the deaths of several employees, but had no other information.

Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi told reporters outside the station that gunmen stormed the compound, placed explosives and then detonated them.

"What happened today is a massacre, a massacre against the freedom of the press," al-Zoebi said in comments broadcast on state-run Syrian TV. "They carried out a terrifying massacre by executing the employees."

An employee at the station said several other employees were wounded in the attack and other guards were kidnapped when the gunmen attacked just before 4 a.m. local time.

The employee, who did not give his name for fear of repercussions, said the gunmen drove him about 200 meters (yards) away, and then he heard the explosion of the station being demolished. "I was terrified when they blindfolded me and took me away," the man said by telephone.

State-run Syrian TV showed a demolished structure without a ceiling, saying it was the station's main studio. It also showed what it said were tapes on fire amid piles of debris.

Associated Press

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