Riyad Al-Assad: Dead or Injured?!

Local Editor

As conflicting reports emerged Monday regarding the fate of the so-called "Free Syrian Army's" military head, Colonel Riad al-Asaad, indications of the Qatari-Saudi battle over controlling the rebels emerged to the surface.

This comes as media outlets reported that al-Asaad and his companion Barakat al-Hawesh "Abu Raed" were killed in a blast targeting their car. Meanwhile, the "Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" said on Monday that al-Asaad, was injured overnight in a blast that hit his car in eastern Syria."

"An explosive device exploded last night near the car carrying "Free Syrian Army" commander Riad Asaad, who was conducting a tour of the town of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse.

Abdel Rahman had no information on Asaad's wounds, but a relative of the commander, speaking to AFP, said he had been transferred to Turkey for treatment after the blast.

Meanwhile, the FSA spokesperson Louai Meqdad claimed that al-Assad is to appear later in a video and that he is in stable condition and suffering from injuries in his leg.
Other news confirmed that "al-Asaad's right leg was amputated from the thigh surviving an assassination attempt, his condition is stable ,he is receiving treatment outside Syrian territories."

This incident comes hours after al-Asaad launched a verbal attack on the new so-called "Interim Government's" Prime Minister Ghassan Hitto.
Al-Assad refused to recognize Hito's election, stressing that the fighters on ground don't accept his leadership.

Shortly after Hitto's appointment, Moaz al-khatib, head of Syria's main opposition group announced his resignation, saying that he would rather continue working freely for Syria without pressure from opposition factors and states with foreign interests.

Source: News Agencies, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org