He came from a prominent family belonging to Syria 's ruling Alawite sect , and was one of the '' old guard '' leaders on the coattails of Mr. Assad 's father , Hafez al-Assad .
Hafez al-Assad /people/person/nationality Syria
PRP VBD IN DT JJ NN VBG TO NNP POS NN NNP NN , CC VBD CD IN DT '' JJ NN '' NNS IN DT NNS IN NNP NNP POS NN , NNP NNP .
Hafez al-Assad
PERSON
Syria
LOCATION
/people/person/nationality