AMMAN, Aug 21 (Reuters) - A Damascus opposition monitoring group said on Wednesday 494 people had been killed in a gas attack and shelling by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on Wednesday, citing data from medical centres in the Syrian capital.
Syria has denied reports of chemical weapons being used in Damascus.
The Damascus Media Office said in a statement 150 bodies were counted in Hammouriya, 100 in Kfar Batna, 67 in Saqba, 61 in Douma, 76 in Mouadamiya and 40 bodies were collected from Irbib.
"The attack began at around 3.00 am. Huge numbers of civilians were subjected to the gases. The numbers continued to increase rapidly as they suffocated to death, with lack of necessary medical supplies to save them," the statement said. (Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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