Reuters: Assad may have died in a plane crash during his escape

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have died in the crash of the plane he took off from Damascus on Sunday, Reuters reports, citing unidentified Syrian sources.

The Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time it was announced that rebels had captured the capital.

The plane initially flew towards a region of Syria that is home to the stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect, but then made a sharp turn and flew in the opposite direction for several minutes before disappearing from radar, Reuters reports, saying it could not immediately determine who was on board.

Two Syrian sources said there is a high probability that Assad may have died in a plane crash, as it is a mystery why the plane took a sudden turn and disappeared from the map according to data from the Flightradar website.

"The plane disappeared from radar, the transponder may have been turned off, but I believe it is more likely that the plane crashed," one of the sources told Reuters.

On November 27, formations of the Jabhat al-Nusra group and its allies launched a large-scale offensive against the positions of Syrian government forces.

By the evening of December 7, Assad's opponents had captured the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs.

Syrian militants entered Damascus on Sunday morning, after which Syrian army units withdrew from the city.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali said he last spoke with Assad on the evening of December 7 and briefed him on the situation.

He said the country must have free elections so Syrians can choose whom they want, noting that he had spoken with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani about managing the transition period, a significant development in efforts to shape Syria's political future.

Thousands of Homs residents took to the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and chanting "Assad is gone, Homs is free" and "Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad."