Is Bashar al-Assad dead? Rumours grow Syrian leader has suffered fatal stroke

GETTY
Bashar al-Assad is rumoured to have suffered a fatal stroke
RUMOURS are growing Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has died after suffering a stroke.
Social media in the country has been abuzz with claims he had died or was in serious ill-health - a fact disputed by his regime.
Syria's government said in a statement he was in “excellent health and carrying out his functions quite naturally” - despite the fact he has not been seen in public in several days.

It added: "The Syrian people had become immune to such lies."