The regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has been toppled by Islamic rebels in the country.
The revels seized control of Damascus on Sunday, ending Assad’s family’s iron-fisted rule that has lasted for over 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.
Press TV reported that the Syrian rebels stormed Iran’s embassy after capturing Damascus on Sunday.
But the Syrian army later said it was continuing operations against “terrorist groups” in the key cities of Hama and Homs and in Deraa countryside.
Following the invasion, Assad fled out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters.
Reuters quoted one of the rebels as saying: “We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison.
“The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people.”