Report: Syrian President Assad's cousin killed in Lattakia

The Saudi-owned pan-Arab news channel Al Arabiya reported on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar Assad's cousin, Tawfiq Assad, died in the Syrian city of Lattakia.

Conflicting versions of Tawfiq Assad's death emerged on the network. In one version, the Syrian president's cousin died after being wounded in a battle against rebel fighters and according to the second version, he was assassinated in Assad's hometown - the village of al-Qardaha.

The Syrian president has lost other family members in recent years as the country has been swept by a bloody civil war.