DAMASCUS - Syria's state TV said late on Thursday that armed groups have committed a massacre in al- Traimseh town of central Hama province in order to frame the Syrian troops, as activists alleged that at least 200 people have been killed in the same town.

The TV said that armed groups committed the massacre, opening fire indiscriminately on the residents of al-Traimseh and causing people to seek help from the Syrian troops.

The state media also said three soldiers were killed when fighting the armed groups in the restive town and that the troops inflicted hefty losses upon the assailants.

Meanwhile, activists' network Local Coordination Committees alleged that at least 200 people have been killed in al-Traimseh in what it also labels as a massacre. The opposition activists accuse the government troops of being behind the carnage.

The Syrian government charges that before every forthcoming session of the UN Security Council, armed fighters would stage a massacre to leverage it against the ruling legitimacy of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.