AMMAN - Syrian soldiers backed by tanks entered the Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya on Tuesday, killing at least 20 young men and burning shops and houses before gradually withdrawing from the town, residents and opposition activists said.

The bodies of the men, mostly shot at point blank range, were found in basements and in shops and houses looted by military personnel, they said, bringing the death toll from the army's offensive on the Sunni Muslim suburb southwest of Damascus, which began on Monday, to 50 people.

With restrictions by Syrian authorities on non-state media, it was impossible to independently verify the reports by the activists and residents.

Syria