Syria Regime, Opposition Trade Blame for Death of Christian Cleric, Top Medic

The Syrian regime and opposition on Wednesday traded blame for the killing of a Christian cleric and a regional Syrian Red Crescent chief.

An "armed terrorist group" killed a priest in the protest hub of Hama in central Syria on Wednesday, state media said, as regime forces reportedly pounded the city for a second day.

"An armed terrorist group killed the priest Bassilius Nassar as he was helping a man who was wounded in the neighborhood of al-Jarajmah," the official SANA news agency said.

But activists said the priest had been "martyred" during an offensive by the army.

"Father Bassilius Nassar was martyred during a military campaign conducted by the regime's forces in the city," the Local Coordination Committees, which organize protests on the ground, said in a statement received by Agence France Presse.

Security forces raked the protest city with heavy machinegun fire and explosives for a second straight day on Wednesday, the LCC said, reporting a number of casualties.

The al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the authorities, said the military had launched the offensive to retake several districts of Hama that were controlled by insurgents after "the failure of efforts" for a negotiated solution.

Jarajmah was one of the neighborhoods targeted.

"The Syrian army is bombarding Hama with heavy weapons, using rocket-propelled grenades," the LCC said.

"The 'shabiha' (regime militiamen) and security agents backed up by tanks are pounding all parts of the Bab Qibli neighborhood."

Some 4,000 soldiers were in the town supported by tanks, the activist group said, adding that houses had collapsed.

The regime and opposition also offered conflicting stories about the killing of the head of the Syrian Red Crescent in the restive northwestern province of Idlib.

Official media said he was murdered by "a terrorist group."

"An armed terrorist group assassinated Abdul Razzaq Jbeiro, president of the Red Crescent organization in Idlib, in the Khan Sheikhoun area," SANA said.

"The group opened fire with a machinegun, hitting him in the head. He was taken to hospital where he died," it added.

Meanwhile the LCC said security forces "assassinated" Jbeiro on the Khan Sheikhoun-al-Maara road.

The Syrian regime blames "terrorist gangs in the pay of foreigners" for the popular unrest that has swept the country since mid-March, with the United Nations estimating that at least 5,400 people have been killed.