Syrian state television broadcast images on Thursday of President Bashar Assad in a meeting with the new defense minister, Fahd al-Freij.
This was the first public sighting of Assad since a bomb attack in Damascus on Wednesday killed three top regime officials, including Freij's predecessor, Daoud Rajha.
In the images, blue-clad Assad watches the swearing-in ceremony of Freij, who is in full military costume.
The broadcast came amid speculation of the president's whereabouts -- fed by Assad's silence -- after the killing of three of his closest aides.
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