Issam Zahreddine

Issam Zahreddine
Nickname(s)"Lion of the Republican Guard"[1]
Born(1961-09-09)9 September 1961
Tarba, As-Suwayda, United Arab Republic
(present-day Syria)
Died18 October 2017(2017-10-18) (aged 56)
Hawijat Saqr, Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Buried
As-Suwayda[2]
Allegiance Syria
Service / branchSyrian Army
Years of service1980–2017
Rank Major General
UnitRepublican Guard
Commands
  • Republican Guard's 104th Brigade[3]
  • Commander of SAA troops in Aleppo (July – October 2013)[4]
  • Commander of Republican Guards in Deir ez-Zor (October 2013 – October 2017)
Battles / wars

Issam Jad'aan Zahreddine (Arabic: عِصَام جَدْعَان زَهْر الدِّين, romanized: ʿIṣām Jadʿān Zahr ad-Dīn, 9 September 1961 – 18 October 2017; also transliterated as Zaher Eldin or Zaher al-Deen) was a Syrian military officer and former commander of the Syrian Republican Guard.[3][7][8] He played a major role in the Syrian Civil War, leading Syrian government forces on several fronts.[9] His most prominent role was the leadership of the surrounded Syrian forces during the over three-year long siege of Deir ez-Zor. On 18 October 2017, Zahreddine was killed by a land mine explosion during operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Saqr island in Deir ez-Zor.[10]

  1. ^ Prince, S.J. (20 November 2016). "WATCH: Syrian General Tours Row of Corpses of Dead ISIS Militants". Terror Alert. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Israeli Druze was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "By All Means Necessary!" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. December 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  4. ^ Tom O'Connor Top Syrian War General Killed in Explosion outside city he helped free from ISIS, Newsweek 10/18/17
  5. ^ a b c Josie Ensor Top Syrian general killed by Isil landmine near Deir Ezzor, The Telegraph 18 October 2017
  6. ^ a b Riad Alarian The "Butcher of Deir Ezzor," Issam Zahreddine, Dies 1 Month After Threatening Syrian Refugees, Muftah, 21 October 2017
  7. ^ Abramson, Judith. "Senior-level Syrian Army official killed in battle". Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Military commander of Syria's Deir al-Zour operation killed in mine explosion - Xinhua - English.news.cn". news.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  9. ^ Gambill, Gary C. (2013), Syrian Druze: Toward Defiant Neutrality, Middle East Forum, retrieved 9 July 2013
  10. ^ Leith Fadel (18 October 2017). "Breaking: Prominent Syrian general Issam Zahreddine killed in Deir Ezzor". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.