Opposition claims Assad's brother died last week in Moscow

A well-informed source, likely to be from the Syrian Free Army or the Russian government, told "Russia Today" television, that a high-ranking Syrian military official died last week at a Russian military hospital, with the body covertly transported to Damascus. No further details were provided regarding his identity.

“The Syrian military figure died of serious wounds incurred during the acts of violence that have been raging there since months,” the sources told Russia Today.

A member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) was quoted by Sky News as saying that official was Assad's brother, Maher Assad, who is the commander of the elite Fourth Division and Republican Guard, charged with protecting the capital.

"We are 100 percent sure that Maher Assad was sent dead to Damascus,” SNC member Mohamad Mahzeh allegedly said Monday.

Last week, the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported according to the Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov that Maher Assad's condition is very critical and he has been fighting for life since July.

Later, a Western diplomat told Reuters that the brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lost his leg in an attack on the security cabinet in Damascus in July.

"We heard from our source that Maher Assad lost one of his legs during the explosion, but don't know anymore information on this regard," the diplomat said.

On July 18, several key officials in the Assad regime lost their lives in an attack.

The pro-Syrian regime did not mention that Maher Assad was injured in the attack, whereas it has been announced several times from various media that the slain officers were led by Maher Assad. This obviously means he was at the meeting with his team during the bombing of security headquarters.

For it's part , the official SANA news agency reported that the Syrian Information Ministry said in a statement issued Monday evening, that the news is baseless and falls within the framework of desperate psychological warfare to undermine the determination of the Syrian people, and that Maher was doing well and practicing his work normally, requesting Syrians not to listen to such rumors.

On the other hand, trusted sources from the opposition inside Syria said there was a weird movement at Quardaha town, where most of Assad's family live, which means there was something remarkable going on.

It is worth mentioning the Assad clan hails from the provincial town of Qardaha which perches on a hill above Latakia city.

Opinion:

After all, it's obvious that the Syrian media will not confirm his death news, also the Russian media will not reveal his perosonal details, but there are signs showing that, if Maher Assad is not dead, then at least he is injured seriously, especially that he hasn't been seen either on media or during Eid prayers of yesterday. As a habit, Maher Assad used to attend the prayers with his brother each year. This evidence embarrasses the regime who still insistently denies his death.

Sources:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4270918,00.html

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/20/233268.html