Majd al-Assad, the younger brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad died on Saturday, state media reported. 'Majd Hafez al-Assad died this morning in Damascus after a long illness,' the official news agency SANA said, without giving further details. Born in 1966 and trained as an electrical engineer, Majd never displayed any political ambition. His death leaves the Syrian president with just one brother and a sister, after his older brother Bassel, who was being groomed for the presidency, was killed in a car crash in 1994. Bashar has ruled Syria since the death of his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000. His remaining brother Maher is a colonel in the presidential guard, while his sister Bushra, the oldest sibling, is married to General Assef Shawkat, a former head of military intelligence who was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Syrian army in July. 