13 July 2012
⚔Siege of the Sayyida Zainab shrine
Syria#Syrian war
AttackerArmed Islamist groups (al-Qaeda, Nusra, ISIS, Assir…)➜TargetHezbollahIranSyria / Syrian Army
In the summer of 2012 the opposition's shelling of the Sayyida Zainab area south of Damascus intensified and the gunmen approached the shrine; in late summer the "Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade" was formed from Iraqi and Lebanese Shia fighters, and Hezbollah sent groups to protect the shrine and its surroundings. The area remained contested until February 2013 and was then secured.