"Yesterday's events will have knocked the morale of the army. Some of the Syrian military units are down to 60 per cent capacity." Internet rumours that Mr Assad had sent his British wife Asma to Moscow appeared to lose credibility yesterday. Opposition officials said they had been told by regime intelligence contacts that she had been flown to the port of Tartous to prepare for funeral today of Asef Shawkat, the president's brother-in-law who was killed in Wednesday's blast.