
An aircraft believed to have been carrying Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took off from Damascus airport about the time rebel forces took control of the capital but vanished from radar mid-flight.
Rumours abound regarding the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after reports that a plane he was supposedly on may have crashed or been shot down while attempting to flee Damascus.
According to open-source data from online tracker Flightradar24.com, a Syrian Air flight departed from Damascus airport when rebels claimed control of the capital. The aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-76T that had initially flown toward Syria’s coastal region.
The plane suddenly reversed and flew in the opposite direction for several minutes before disappearing from radar close to the city of Homs.