Asef Shawkat was a brother-in-law to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and a top enforcer in his embattled government, a loyalist so committed that he stood by the Assad family even after he was reportedly shot by the president’s younger brother.
With Mr. Shawkat in the command center of the government’s campaign to crush the Syrian opposition was a who’s who of Mr. Assad’s inner circle, including his defense minister and a former defense minister...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/world/middleeast/valued-relative-and-2-strong-loyalists-die-in-damascus-attack.html?_r=2&em