Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday received his newly appointed army chief-of-staff General Ali Ayyub

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday received his newly appointed army chief-of-staff General Ali Ayyub, state television reported.
  
"President Assad met chief-of-staff General Ali Ayyub and gave him his instructions wishing him all good," the broadcaster reported.
  
Ayyub replaces Fahd al-Freij, who was named defense minister after the martyrdom of Daoud Rajha in a blast that also killed three other senior figuers.
  
The attack, claimed by the rebel Free Syrian Army, also killed national security chief General Hisham Ikhtiyar, Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawkat and General Hassan Turkmani.