Assets worth 100 million pounds belonging to Syrian leaders have been located and frozen in Britain, the BBC revealed on Thursday.

The European Union imposed sanctions on President Bashar Assad's regime after it violently suppressed anti-government protests.

Most of the UK assets is cash held in bank accounts by people and organisations named in the EU's action, the Corporation reported.

Thousands of people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began against President Assad in March 2011.

Earlier this year, President Assad's British-born wife, Asma, was added to the list of people whose assets were frozen and more names are expected to be added to the list in the coming weeks.

President Assad and his British-born wife Asma are banned from travelling to EU countries.
The BBC said on the ground, on the phone and on the internet, financial trackers in the US and Europe are working to trace and freeze the assets belonging to President Assad and members of his regime.

For its part, the British government's Asset Freezing Unit lists 129 proscribed individuals from Syria and 49 companies, all subject to EU sanctions.

But Ian Willis, at the business intelligence firm Alaco, says it is just a fraction of the fortune amassed by the Assad family and its close associates during 41 years in power. He estimated the figure at one billion pounds and says most of it is beyond the EU's reach, deposited in Russia and other countries that have yet to apply sanctions on Damascus.

Meanwhile, reports here said mystery surrounded the whereabouts of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad today, as battles raged in the centre of Damascus a day after a bomber killed his top security chiefs.

The Syrian leader made no public appearance and no statement after a bomb in the heart of the capital killed his powerful brother-in-law, his defence minister and a top general, drawing fierce army retaliation with heavy artillery against the rebels.