Three months ago the palace, perched on the mountains above the Syrian capital, was the hideout of Bashar al-Assad, off-limits to all but the former dictator’s inner circle. This week it hosted ...

The palace appeared to be partly in ruins, with soldiers' steps crunching broken tiles underneath their boots.

Unlike the fall of past dictators, such as the late Saddam Hussein of Iraq, those storming the palace didn't so much trash the joint as dishevel it — for the most part. The main entrance was ...