ALBAWABA - Maher Assad, a Syrian general and commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Divisio, was allegedly killed in an Israeli attack on Syria, unconfirmed reports emerged online.
The rumor began after a post on X (formerly Twitter) was made by the famous controversial Israeli journalist Edy Cohen claiming that Maher Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar Assad, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on Damascus.
Choen claimed in his post that the bombing, which allegedly killed Maher Assad, targeted sites in the Damascus countryside, specifically the Dimas area, west of the capital, near the Syrian-Lebanese border, on early Saturday.
Online users took to social media to ask "Where's Maher Assad?" following the rumor and after the Syrian military commander hadn't seen in public for a long time. It is worth noting that Maher Assad rarely appears in public.
However, according to Alarabiya, the last public appearance of Maher Assad was last year when he appeared in a video lasting less than a minute. The commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Divisio was spotted heading towards a group of officers in the Syrian army.
Was Maher Assad assassinated in an Israeli strike in Syria?
Following the rumor, which was widely spread online and was apparently deleted later on by Edy Cohen, a Syrian official made a statement denying the allegations that Maher Assad was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in Syria, Alarabyia reported citing RT.
Syrian MP Wael Melhem posted on his Facebook denying the rumors made about Maher Assad and stressing that Cohen’s post on X is completely false and baseless.
He wrote: "Major General Maher Assad is in good health and is at the helm of his work, praise be to God, and all the rumors circulating about him are completely false and baseless.
May God protect you, Sir Major General Maher."
