Zidan Mashour, a Druze resident of the Syrian Golan Heights village of Hader, was driving July 22 near the town of Quneitra when his car exploded and he was killed instantly. A missile fired from an unmanned aircraft reportedly hit his car. The killing was attributed to Israel, which did not take responsibility for the attack.
According to Syrian media reports, Mashour was a key activist in the “Golan File,” a covert Hezbollah operation to establish a frontline base against Israel on the Golan Heights that Israel exposed this past March. His job was to recruit local residents for a secret militia being established by Hezbollah along the border with Israel. The militia was tasked with storing weapons, explosives and anti-tank missiles for the Shiite organization, familiarizing itself with the border and readying for the day when Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah opens a new front against Israel. According to the “Golan File,” Hezbollah’s militia is mostly local mercenaries. It is reportedly led by Hezbollah operative Ali Moussa Daqduq (nicknamed Abu Hassan Sajad). This unit is supposed to collect intelligence information, identify Israeli weak points, monitor the movement and SOPs of the Israeli military units deployed along the border and entrench Hezbollah in the arena.