Reuters: Assad's Plane Most Likely Shot Down On Approach To Russian Khmeimim Air Base

• 8.12.2024, 12:48

The dictator is most likely dead.

Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, who fled Damascus, may be dead. According to two Reuters sources, there is a very high probability that Assad could have died in a plane crash.

Assad is believed to have left Damascus on a plane to an unknown destination. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has not ruled out that the private jet that took off from Damascus airport was carrying him.

According to Flightradar24, the Il-76 of Syrian Air took off from the city's airport at 4:55 Damascus time. It first headed east, towards Iraq, then turned towards the Russian Khmeimim military base on the coast. Before reaching its target, the plane made a sharp turn, after which it disappeared from radar at 5:39.

The plane was at an altitude of 500 meters when it disappeared from radar.

Reuters was unable to immediately establish who was on board. Two Syrian sources said there was a very high probability that Assad was on board and could have died in the crash. That is because, according to Flightradar, it remains a mystery why the plane suddenly turned and disappeared from the map. “It may have disappeared from radar because the transponder (a device that sends a signal in response to a received signal — edit.) was turned off, but I think it is more likely that the plane was shot down,” one Syrian source said, without giving details.