There is a high probability that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad died in a plane crash, Reuters wrote on Sunday. The agency cited two Syrian sources in the services. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, when the rebels were entering Damascus, one of the planes taking off from the airport disappeared from the radar after some time.
According to Flightradar data, the Syrian Air plane departed from Damascus airport around the same time that the capital was occupied by rebels. Initially, the machine flew towards the Syrian coast, i.e. west, but then it suddenly turned around and flew in the opposite direction for several minutes until it finally disappeared from radars.
Reuters stressed that it could not say with certainty who was on board the plane.
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The plane “disappeared from radar”
Two Syrian security sources said it was highly probable that Assad could have flown it. It cannot be ruled out that he died in a plane crash. The plane “disappeared from radar, it's possible the transponder was turned off, but I think it's more likely that the plane was shot down,” one of the sources said.
Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Gazi al-Jalali said on Sunday that the whereabouts of Assad and Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas were unknown as of Saturday evening.
World news agencies reported Assad's probable escape from the country on a plane on the night from Saturday to Sunday. At the same time, the media reports that in recent days, among others, has escaped from Syria. Assad's wife and their children. Apparently they landed in Russia.
Ł-76T of Syrian AirSkycolors/Shutterstock
Main photo source: Skycolors/Shutterstock