Assad leads prayers in rare appearance outside Damascus

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led Eidul-Fitr prayers in the central city of Hama on Sunday, appearing in public outside the capital for the first time in a year.
Assad's office published images of him praying inside the brightly-lit Al-Nuri mosque at dawn on Sunday before greeting worshippers outside. He was flanked by Islamic Endowments Minister Mohammad Abdel-Sattar Sayyed and Syria's top Muslim cleric Ahmad Badredine Hassoun.
Ahead of the holiday, Syria's government released more than 670 detainees - including some children born to prisoners - from jails around Damascus on Saturday. Assad's last public appearance outside Damascus was during Eidul-Fitr in July 2016, which he spent in third city Homs. Presidential trips outside the capital have become rare since Syria's conflict broke out more than six years ago.