DAMASCUS - "Armed terrorist groups" killed 13 people in a restive suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus, state TV said on Wednesday.

The massacre occurred in the battered suburb of Douma, which is controlled by the extremists "Islam Brigade," leaving 13 people dead, including nine men, three children and a woman, according to the TV.

The activists' network, Local Coordination Committees, accused the government troops of being behind it.

Douma, a sprawling suburb of Damascus, has emerged as a scene of bitter fighting between the government troops and the armed rebels.