On 21 July 2019, news emerged of the assassination of a certain Mashhur Zaydan in the Sa'sa' area of Damascus countryside. It is known that Mashhur was working with Hezbollah. Israel was undoubtedly behind the assassination. Here I will present more information on his life.
 Mashhur Zaydan with his daughter. In the background is a portrait of Emad Mughnieh. |
Mashhur was born on 2 March 1983 in the locality of Hadr in Quneitra province on the border with the occupied Syrian Golan. Hadr is a Druze locality and has stood firmly with the Syrian government since the beginning of the civil war. The locality has 138 'martyrs' from military personnel and civilians during the war. In the early days of the war the people of Hadr, as in other loyalist areas, formed 'popular committees' to defend the locality against the insurgents. Mashhur and his brothers joined these committees and also worked to persuade people that the events in Syria were a conspiracy serving the interests of Israel and other countries.
By late 2012, the National Defence Forces (NDF) network began to come into operation, incorporating and organizing many members of 'popular committees'. Mashhur and his brothers joined the NDF and remained with the NDF for around two years, participating in a number of battles in Damascus countryside, East Ghouta and Quneitra. After leaving the NDF, Mashhur began working with Hezbollah in the Damascus area, but the nature of his work was highly secret. Even his brothers did not know at first that he was working with Hezbollah. For security reasons, exact details of his work cannot be disclosed, but we can say that he was a friend of Samir Quntar (a Lebanese Druze member of Hezbollah assassinated by Israel in December 2015) and was close to Jihad Mughnieh, the son of he Emad Mughnieh. Jihad was killed by Israel in Quneitra province in January 2015, and Mashhur was one of the people Jihad trusted. Mashhur was also close to Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.
 Mashhur Zaydan. Note the Hezbollah insignia. |
 Mashhur Zaydan with Hezbollah and 'Labbayk ya Zaynab' ('At your service, oh Zaynab') insignia. |
It should also be noted that militarily, Mashhur worked with the Republican Guard at the same time that he was working with Hezbollah.
 Mashhur Zaydan. Note the 'Ya Meqdad' patch and the Republican Guard insignia. |
 Mashhur Zaydan posing with a sign that reads: "Regards from the men of God, the Homeland Shield, the men of the Republican Guard to the mujahid prisoner brother Bilal Kayed. No prison room remains, nor do the chains. Assad's Syria. Beloved Palestine. Khalid Ayub." |
In addition to his military work, Mashhur was involved in demonstrations in support of the Syrian government in the capital, for he held strongly patriotic sentiments. As for his family, they feel pride that Mashhur was 'martyred' at the hands of Israel's own strike and weapons rather than at the hands of the weapons of a mercenary gang, for they consider Israel to be the foundational enemy that targets any person of the muqawama ('resistance') and clearly deemed Mashhur to be a great threat.
It should further be noted that some months ago, Mashhur faced a kidnapping attempt at the hands of unknown assailants (probably working for the interests of Israel). Though not killed while trying to fend off the assailants, Mashhur was taken captive and the Syrian state intervened to release him in a prisoner exchange deal so after a month he was freed from captivity. But even so, it did not mean that Israel would leave him alone.
In the end, Mashhur was often hopeful for 'martyrdom' in the path of muqawama so from his perspective that is what he got.