BEIRUT (AFP) - Syria's army randomly bombarded the protest hub of Homs early on Saturday, killing at least 260 civilians in one of the "most horrific massacres" in the country's uprising, an opposition group said.

KABUL (AFP) - A record number of civilians were killed in Afghanistan's decade-long war last year, with a dramatic rise in the number of deaths from suicide attacks, the United Nations reported Saturday.

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syria's government denied on Saturday that its army bombarded the central city of Homs, instead blaming the bloodshed on "armed gunmen," state media reported.

NICOSIA (AFP) - At least 217 civilians, including women and children, died in a "massacre" by Syrian forces in the central city of Homs, a rights group said Saturday, urging the people to rise up against the regime.

NICOSIA (AFP) - Mortar fire killed 105 people and left hundreds more injured in the central Syrian city of Homs late Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.