Issam Zahreddine

Issam Zahreddine
Issam Zahreddine
عصام زهر الدين
	Republican Guard General Issam Zahreddine
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
Burial place	As-Suwayda
	Military career
Allegiance	Ba'athist Syria
Branch	Syrian Arab Army
Service years	1980–2017
Rank	Major General
Nickname	"Lion of the Republican Guard"
Unit	Republican Guard
Commands	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);
Conflicts	Islamist uprising in Syria; Syrian Civil War 2012 Homs offensive; Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013); Damascus offensive; Rif Dimashq offensive (March–August 2013); Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016); Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–2014); Battle of Al-Hasakah (June–August 2015); Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–2017) †; ;

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. He played a major role in the Syrian Civil War, leading Syrian government forces on several fronts. His most prominent role was the leadership of the surrounded Syrian forces during the over three-year long siege of Deir ez-Zor by ISIS. On 18 October 2017, Zahreddine was killed by a land mine explosion during operations against the Islamic State on Saqr island in Deir ez-Zor.