Assad may have died after his plane crashed?

Where is Bashar al-Assad?

This is the question that now requires answers, even though those of his wife Asma and their two children - remain unknown.

Assad has not spoken publicly since the rebels' sudden advance a week ago, when insurgents overran northern Aleppo in a surprise attack before marching on a string of towns as front lines crumbled.

And two senior army officers told Reuters he flew from Damascus to an unknown destination earlier on Sunday.

Developing:

A Syrian IL-76T coming from Damascus lost fast altitude near Homs and possibly crashed west of that city. There are rumors that it was Assad's plan. pic.twitter.com/K6IvQILlsw

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) December 8, 2024

A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the website Flightradar.

The plane initially flew towards Syria's coastal region, a stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect, but then made a sudden U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for several minutes before disappearing from the map, Reuters writes.

However, Reuters writes that it could not immediately reveal who was on board.

But two Syrian sources said there was a very high probability that Assad could have been killed in a plane crash as it was a mystery why the plane took a sudden turn and disappeared from the map according to data from the website Flightradar.

"He disappeared from the radar, maybe the transponder was turned off, but I believe the greatest probability is that the plane crashed...", a Syrian source was quoted as saying without giving details.

As the rebel advance gained momentum over the past week, there was speculation that he might seek refuge in Moscow or his other key ally, Iran. /Telegraph/