Maher al-Assad, seen here with Bashar in 2000, has reputation as a fearsome military leader. (Courtesy Creative Commons/ Syriana 2011)

The July 18 attack killed four members of Assad's inner-circle, including the president's brother-in-law. Maher, who has a vicious reputation as the commander of the Syrian army's Republican Guard, has not been seen in public since the attack. Reports of Maher's lost leg came as Arab countries in the Gulf warned their citizens to leave Lebanon after after a Lebanese Shi'ite clan kidnapped more than 20 people in Beirut and threatened to capture others. 

The United Nations announced Thursday that it will let the military observer mission's mandate expire on Sunday. Far from giving up on Syria, the U.N. will back a civilian liaison office in order to continue its efforts to end the bloody conflict which has claimed 18,000 lives over the past 17 months.

Russia invited U.N. ambassadors to meet in New York on Friday to discuss an end the violence.

Read the story at Reuters or the Associated Press.

Follow Neon Tommy's coverage of the Syrian conflict. 

Reach Executive Producer Dawn Megli here.