Accounts close to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah mourned four members of its ranks, including a commander, who were recently killed in the eastern Suweida desert, while sources close to the Assad regime announced the death of a prominent military commander without saying where he died.
Newspapers close to Hezbollah published news of the death of Al-Hajj Tareq Ibrahim Hayder, who was from the town of Kafrdan in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, saying that he “sacrificed himself to defend sacred sites” in Syria.
The Suweida 24 network announced that two members of the militia were killed in the Suweida desert after a bomb exploded in a car carrying them on the Al-Safa axis, where the Islamic State (ISIS) is present, raising the number of Hezbollah fighters killed over the last two days to four members, including “Tareq Hayder, of Lebanese nationality, and there Syrian fighters, Zein al-Abidin Shahin, Mohamed Salem al-Qassem, and Meqdad Zaki Hamoud.”
Hezbollah has been participating alongside regime forces in attacks against ISIS positions in the Suweida desert.
Hezbollah is also overseeing the National Defense militia sector in the Suweida countryside, with logistical and material support. Sources told Suweida 24 that July’s salaries for the National Defense militia were paid for by Hezbollah.
The fighting in the Al-Safa area east of Suweida province is still at its fiercest between the regime forces and their allies against ISIS.
As well as this announcment, the official page of the Qadis militia of the Republican Guard in the regime forces announced that the commander, Mohamed Ali Salhab, known as the “Desert Samurai” was killed, without saying where he died or who killed him.
Salhab is considered a prominent commander in the militias loyal to Assad’s forces, and Russia had given him a “combat friendship” medal after he was wounded last year, the highest first-class honor.
The Qadis militia (support forces and Popular Defense) was formed under the auspices of the Republican Guard in 2014 and includes a large number of young men who volunteered to protect loyalist areas and support Assad’s forces and Shia Lebanese militias in their fight against the Syrian opposition and ISIS.
It fought in Aleppo and the Damascus countryside as well as in Palmyra and Syrian desert areas, losing a large number of its members during these battles.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
