DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV station early today, killing seven employees, kidnapping others and demolishing buildings, officials said. They denounced what they called a “massacre against the freedom of the press” and held it up as an example of rebel atrocities.

Al-Ikhbariya is privatelyowned but strongly supports President Bashar Assad’s regime. Pro-government journalists have been attacked on several previous occasions during the country’s 15- month uprising, although such incidents are comparatively rare.

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

Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi told reporters that gunmen stormed the station compound in the town of Drousha, about 14 miles south of the capital Damascus, placed explosives and then detonated them. He said the attackers killed seven people and kidnapped others.

“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.”

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