Twelve killed in shelling of east Syria-observatory

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 12 people were killed by shelling in the eastern Syrian town of al-Qurriya on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, blaming the government for an attack which the authorities denied carrying out.

Footage posted on YouTube from al-Qurriya and dated November 9 appeared to show at least five bodies lying in a street in pools of blood.

The voice of a man who is apparently filming the scene identifies the day as November 9, 2012 and says the city has been subjected to "random bombardment".

A headline bar on Syrian state TV quoted an official source denying reports of "bombardment of the city of al-Qurriya", which is situated in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor.

But Rami Abdelrahman, head of the observatory, told Reuters that government forces had been shelling al-Qurriya from the outskirts of Al-Mayadin, some 10 km (6 miles) to the northwest.

The position was the scene of fighting between government and rebel forces, he said.

Cries of "massacre" and "God is greatest" can be heard in the footage from al-Qurriya as the camera filmed what appeared to be lifeless bodies in civilian clothes. Two of the victims, one of whom appeared to be a young teenager, were loaded into a white truck and then driven away.

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Jon Boyle)