Thousands Attend Funeral of Prominent Syrian General Killed in Deir Ezzor

Thousands of Syrians attended on October 20 the funeral of Issam Zaher al-Deen, a prominent major general of the Syrian army, in his home town of al-Suwayda.

Al-Deen played a leading role in the offensive against Islamic State during a three-year siege of the city. Local reports said he was killed by a mine that struck the vehicle he was traveling in on Saqr Island, Deir Ezzor.

Al-Deen was a member of Syria’s minority Druze community. He sparked controversy shortly before his death when he made comments about Syrians who had “run away” from the war in the country, saying they should not come back.

He late said his message had been directed at those “who carried weapons against their fellow citizens and the Syrian army, not at the ordinary citizens who fled the scourge of war”. Credit: Facebook/Damascus Now via Storyful