Opposition fighters set fire to the mausoleum of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in his ancestral hometown of Qardaha on December 11, delivering a symbolic blow to the Assad family's half-century legacy of rule.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that rebels had torched the elaborate hilltop structure, which housed the tombs of multiple Assad family members in the Alawite heartland of Latakia province.

Footage showed armed fighters and civilians gathering around the burning mausoleum, with the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, being extensively damaged in the blaze.

In a second video, men are seen breaking through the grave to set fire to the remains of the first Al-Assad, who ruled the country until his son took his place.

The ornate mausoleum, featuring intricate stone architecture and multiple arches, also contained the remains of Bashar al-Assad's brother Bassel, who was being prepared to succeed their father before his death in a 1994 car accident.

The destruction comes just days after a rapid rebel offensive that seized major cities before capturing Damascus on Sunday, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee and ending the family's 53-year grip on power.

The mausoleum's location in Qardaha, deep in Syria's Alawite-majority coastal region, had made it a potent symbol of Assad family rule and their connection to the religious minority that formed their power base.