Embattled Syrian president makes rare appearance
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad made a rare public appearance on Saturday by attending prayers for a key Muslim holiday at a mosque in the capital, Damascus, hours after the US-led coalition carried out new airstrikes against Islamic State group militants in Syria.
Syrian state television aired footage of Assad praying on Saturday at the al-Numan Bin Bashir mosque in Damascus, along with government officials and the country's Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun as most Muslims around the world started celebrating the three-day holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice.
During Syria's civil war, which is now in its fourth year and which activists say has killed more than 190,000 people, Assad has been making rare public appearances. Previously, he appeared in public in July, when he attended prayers for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
