Syrians celebrate fall of Assad as Israel and Turkey strike military targets

Many in Syria are celebrating a stunning and unexpected political turn that caught much of the world off guard. Follow for live updates.

• Syrians are cheering the fall of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, as a rebel-linked caretaker prime minister was appointed to oversee the transition of power. Some families are desperately searching for loved ones forcibly disappeared under the Assad regime. • Israel said it struck Syria nearly 500 times in two days, hitting most of the country’s strategic weapons stockpiles and destroying its navy fleet. The bombings were intended to prevent the stockpiles from falling “into the hands of extremists,” according to an Israeli official. Separately, Turkish state media says a Turkish drone destroyed military equipment in northern Syria that had been seized by a Kurdish group. • Meanwhile, in eastern Syria, the newly formed rebel coalition claimed it had seized the city of Deir Ezzor from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which the SDF disputed, saying its forces had only withdrawn from the western banks of the Euphrates River. • The US said it “will recognize and fully support” a new Syrian government that is chosen by the people and sticks to key principles, including respecting minorities’ rights and preventing the country from being used as a base for terrorism. At least 15 military aircraft at Syria’s Marj Ruhayyil Airbase have been targeted in a spate of airstrikes, according to CNN analysis of satellite imagery obtained from Planet Labs. The strikes also appear to have targeted base infrastructure. The facility, located 18 miles (30 km) south of Damascus, appears to have housed a unit of Mi-25 “Hind” helicopters,” seen in satellite imagery collected by Planet Labs on December 3 and Maxar imagery from earlier this year.