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The Siege of Deir ez-Zor: 1,000 Days Against ISIS
From 2014 to 2017, Deir ez-Zor was an island of government-controlled territory surrounded by ISIS on all sides. General Issam Zahreddine commanded its defense. He survived the siege. He didn't survive the landmine.
Confirmed2 chapters2014-07-01— 2017-10-18
How 8,000 soldiers and civilians surrounded by ISIS survived for nearly three years — and the general who held the line until he was blown up by a landmine days after the siege ended.
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Chapter 01custom01 / 02
Encircled: ISIS Surrounds Deir ez-Zor, 2014
Deir ez-Zor is a city of about 200,000 on the Euphrates River in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. It is an oil-producing region. When ISIS swept through northern Iraq and eastern Syria in 2014, it captured most of Deir ez-Zor province — the surrounding towns, the oil fields, the countryside.
But it could not take the city itself. Entrenched government forces, commanded by General Issam Zahreddine — a General in the Republican Guard from the Druze community of Sweida — held the airport and the central districts. By mid-2014, the city was surrounded.
The siege lasted from July 2014 to September 2017 — approximately 1,100 days. During this time, the city was supplied entirely by air: Russian and Syrian government airdrops and cargo planes landing at the military airport under fire. The civilian population, which initially numbered around 100,000 in the besieged pocket, survived on airdropped flour, oil, and whatever could be grown locally.
Zahreddine became a media figure. He gave interviews in the city, was filmed visiting positions, made speeches. He was loud, confident, and physically imposing — a distinctive presence in a war where military commanders were usually invisible. He said he would not leave Deir ez-Zor.
ISIS repeatedly tried to capture the airport — the lifeline of the city. Zahreddine's forces held it. The city was shelled constantly. Parts of the urban area changed hands in close-quarters fighting. The siege was brutal and nearly forgotten by the outside world, which was focused on Aleppo, Raqqa, and Mosul.
But it could not take the city itself. Entrenched government forces, commanded by General Issam Zahreddine — a General in the Republican Guard from the Druze community of Sweida — held the airport and the central districts. By mid-2014, the city was surrounded.
The siege lasted from July 2014 to September 2017 — approximately 1,100 days. During this time, the city was supplied entirely by air: Russian and Syrian government airdrops and cargo planes landing at the military airport under fire. The civilian population, which initially numbered around 100,000 in the besieged pocket, survived on airdropped flour, oil, and whatever could be grown locally.
Zahreddine became a media figure. He gave interviews in the city, was filmed visiting positions, made speeches. He was loud, confident, and physically imposing — a distinctive presence in a war where military commanders were usually invisible. He said he would not leave Deir ez-Zor.
ISIS repeatedly tried to capture the airport — the lifeline of the city. Zahreddine's forces held it. The city was shelled constantly. Parts of the urban area changed hands in close-quarters fighting. The siege was brutal and nearly forgotten by the outside world, which was focused on Aleppo, Raqqa, and Mosul.
Confirmed(85%)Sensitivity: medium
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Chapter 02custom02 / 02
Siege Lifted — Then Killed by a Landmine: 2017
In September 2017, the Syrian Arab Army — with Russian air support and the Tiger Forces of Suheil al-Hassan advancing from the west — finally broke the ISIS siege of Deir ez-Zor. After more than three years, a land corridor was established linking the city to government-controlled territory.
Zahreddine had survived. He had been one of the most besieged commanders in the war — surrounded, cut off, bombarded for over a thousand days — and he had held on. The relief of the siege was a significant military and propaganda victory for the Assad government.
He gave a victory interview. He was photographed. He was celebrated in state media. He had become, over the years of the siege, one of the most recognizable Syrian government military figures internationally — his boisterous personality and physical presence made him memorable in a way that most SAA generals were not.
On October 18, 2017 — just weeks after the siege was lifted — Zahreddine was killed. He was travelling near the Al-Hawija area when his vehicle drove over a landmine. He died instantly.
His death was a shock. He had survived years of ISIS siege only to be killed by a leftover weapon after it was over. The irony was not lost on anyone: the general who had refused to leave Deir ez-Zor, who had said he would die there if necessary, was killed in Deir ez-Zor — but not in the way anyone had expected.
The Syrian government mourned him. He was buried in Sweida, his home province. Thousands attended his funeral.
Zahreddine had survived. He had been one of the most besieged commanders in the war — surrounded, cut off, bombarded for over a thousand days — and he had held on. The relief of the siege was a significant military and propaganda victory for the Assad government.
He gave a victory interview. He was photographed. He was celebrated in state media. He had become, over the years of the siege, one of the most recognizable Syrian government military figures internationally — his boisterous personality and physical presence made him memorable in a way that most SAA generals were not.
On October 18, 2017 — just weeks after the siege was lifted — Zahreddine was killed. He was travelling near the Al-Hawija area when his vehicle drove over a landmine. He died instantly.
His death was a shock. He had survived years of ISIS siege only to be killed by a leftover weapon after it was over. The irony was not lost on anyone: the general who had refused to leave Deir ez-Zor, who had said he would die there if necessary, was killed in Deir ez-Zor — but not in the way anyone had expected.
The Syrian government mourned him. He was buried in Sweida, his home province. Thousands attended his funeral.
Confirmed(85%)Sensitivity: medium
Full Source List
01
Deir ez-Zor: Syria's forgotten siegeAl Jazeera
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