Issam Zahreddine

Issam Zahreddine
Issam Zahreddine
Nickname(s)	"Lion of the Republican Guard"
Born	9 September 1961; Tarba, As-Suwayda, United Arab Republic; (present-day Syria)
Died	18 October 2017 (aged 56); Hawijat Saqr, Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Buried	As-Suwayda
Allegiance	Syria
Service/branch	Syrian Army
Years of service	1980–2017
Rank	Major General
Unit	Republican Guard
Commands held	Republican Guard's 104th Brigade; 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 2012 Homs offensive; Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013)[citation needed]; 2013 Damascus offensive; Rif Dimashq offensive (March–August 2013)[citation needed]; 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; 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]

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

[1] Prince, S.J. (20 November 2016). "WATCH: Syrian General Tours Row of Corpses of Dead ISIS Militants". Terror Alert. Retrieved 26 January 2018.

[Israeli_Druze-2] Cite error: The named reference Israeli Druze was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[hrwdec11-3] "By All Means Necessary!" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. December 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2012.

[Top_Syrian_War_General-4] Tom O'Connor Top Syrian War General Killed in Explosion outside city he helped free from ISIS, Newsweek 10/18/17

[Top_Syrian_general-5] Josie Ensor Top Syrian general killed by Isil landmine near Deir Ezzor, The Telegraph 18 October 2017

[Butcher_of_Deir_Ezzor-6] Riad Alarian The "Butcher of Deir Ezzor," Issam Zahreddine, Dies 1 Month After Threatening Syrian Refugees, Muftah, 21 October 2017

[jerusalemnews-7] Abramson, Judith. "Senior-level Syrian Army official killed in battle". Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

[xinhuadeathreport-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.

[MEF-9] Gambill, Gary C. (2013), Syrian Druze: Toward Defiant Neutrality, Middle East Forum, retrieved 9 July 2013

[death-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.

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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)
Died	18 October 2017(2017-10-18) (aged 56) Hawijat Saqr, Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Buried	As-Suwayda^[2]
Allegiance	Syria
Service/branch	Syrian Army
Years of service	1980–2017
Rank	Major General
Unit	Republican Guard
Commands held	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	Syrian Civil War 2012 Homs offensive^[5] Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013)^{[citation needed]} 2013 Damascus offensive Rif Dimashq offensive (March–August 2013)^{[citation needed]}^[5]^[6] Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–14) Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–17) †^[5] Battle of Al-Hasakah (June–August 2015)^[6]