Issam Zahreddine

Issam Zahreddine
Nickname	"Lion of the Republican Guard"[1] "The Druze Beast"
Born	1961 Tarba, As-Suwayda, Syria
Died	18 October 2017(2017-10-18) (aged 56) Hawijat Saqr, Deir ez-Zor
Allegiance	Syria
Service/branch	Syrian Arab Army
Years of service	1980–2017
Rank	Major General
Unit	Syrian Republican Guard
Commands held	Republican Guard's 104th Brigade[2] Commander of SAA troops in Aleppo (July – October 2013) Commander of Republican Guards in Deir ez-Zor (October 2013 – October 2017)
Battles/wars	Syrian civil war Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013) 2013 Damascus offensive Rif Dimashq offensive (March–August 2013) Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–14) Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–17) Battle of Al-Hasakah (June–August 2015)

Issam Jad'aan Zahreddine (Arabic: عِصَام جَدْعَان زَهْر الدِّين, romanized: ʿIṣām Jadʿān Zahr ad-Dīn, 9 September 1961 – 18 October 2017 sometimes called as Issam Zaher Eldin or Issam Zaher al-Deen, was a Major General of the Syrian Republican Guard.^[2][3][4] He played a major role in the Syrian Civil War, leading government forces on several fronts.^[5] His most prominent role was the leadership of the surrounded Syrian forces during the over three-year long Siege of Deir ez-Zor.

Syrian news agencies reported on 18 October 2017, that 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.^[6]

1. ↑ S.J. Prince (20 November 2016). "WATCH: Syrian General Tours Row of Corpses of Dead ISIS Militants". Heavy.com. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "By All Means Necessary!" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. December 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
3. ↑ "Senior-level Syrian Army official killed in battle | JerusalemOnline". Archived from the original on 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
4. ↑ "Military commander of Syria's Deir al-Zour operation killed in mine explosion - Xinhua | English.news.cn".
5. ↑ Gambill, Gary C. (2013), Syrian Druze: Toward Defiant Neutrality, Middle East Forum, retrieved 9 July 2013
6. ↑ 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.