(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130129-aleppo-syria-815a.photoblog600.jpg)Thomas Rassloff/EPALocals gather at the banks of a small canal containg the bodies of dozens of people on Jan. 29 in Aleppo, Syria. By Alexander Dziadosz and Oliver Holmes, ReutersBEIRUT — At least 65 people, apparently shot in the head, were found dead with their hands bound in a district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday, a pro-opposition monitoring group said.
The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (http://syriahr.com/en/) said the death toll could rise as high as 80 in what it called a "new massacre."
It was not clear who carried out the killings.
Photos posted online by activists showed the muddied bodies of about a dozen men lying by a small river in what they said was the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo.
Close-up shots of some of the corpses showed they had what appeared to be gunshot wounds to the head.
Government forces (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/16/16550629-syrian-death-toll-soars-with-college-blasts-triple-car-bombings?lite) and rebels (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/23/16661634-rights-group-syria-rebels-accused-of-looting-churches-destroying-mosque?lite) in Syria have both been accused by human rights groups of carrying out summary executions in the 22-month-old conflict, which has claimed more than 60,000 lives.
Rebels pushed into Aleppo, Syria's most populous city, over the summer, but have been stuck in a stalemate with government forces. The city is divided roughly in half between the two sides.
Related:
PhotoBlog: Syrian rebels take fight into Damascus (http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/15/16524086-photos-reveal-syrian-rebels-taking-fight-to-damascus?lite)
Syrian refugees: 'We escaped death' (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/15/16519776-we-escaped-death-syrian-refugees-struggle-with-cold-hunger-and-uncertainty?lite)
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