Syrian government denies US allegations of mass killings

BEIRUT – Syria’s government says it “categorically” denies U.S. accusations of mass killings at a prison, including executions of political opponents, and burning the victims in a crematorium to hide the evidence.

The Foreign Ministry in Damascus describes the U.S. State Department accusations as “a new Hollywood plot” and “lies” that are being used to justify U.S. “aggression and intervention.”

The statement was released on Tuesday.

Western monitors and watchdog groups say they have accumulated evidence of mass killings in Syrian government prisons. However, there hasn’t been any substantiated allegation so far of the use of a crematorium

On Monday, the State Department said it believes about 50 detainees are being hanged each day at the Saydnaya military prison, which is located about a 45 minutes’ drive north of the capital, Damascus.