his sister Bushra, known as "the Iron Lady," along with her husband Asef Shawkat, a key intelligence figure; and his wife ...

Al-Assad ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, and shared five children with Makhlouf, Bushra, Basil, Bashar, Majed and Maher. Makhlouf was born in 1930 to a powerful and wealthy family ...