Syria updates: Assad prisons searched; Israel hits suspected chemical weapons sites

The Kremlin signaled today that President Vladimir Putin had personally approved asylum for ousted leader Bashar al-Assad in Moscow.
Families and rescue teams have rushed to a notorious Damascus prison where detainees are feared to be held underground, as many Syrians who disappeared under President Bashar al-Assad emerged to reunite with their loved ones.

The Kremlin signaled that President Vladimir Putin personally approved asylum for Assad in Moscow, where the opposition flag was raised at the Syrian Embassy.

Assad fled the country after a coalition of rebels toppled his regime and captured the capital, Damascus.

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham met with Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, according to video distributed in an apparent attempt to demonstrate an orderly transfer of power after 13 years of civil war.

Israel said it had struck suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria to prevent them from falling into “the hands of extremists.” The United States ordered more than 75 strikes on ISIS camps to stop the terrorist group from taking advantage of the upheaval.