Once a pro-Iran bastion, Damascus shrine district now in rebel hands
2024-12-11 23:00:02 - From: Al monitor
Shortly before Sunni Islamist-led rebels swept into the Syrian capital, Iran-backed guards fled their positions at the gates a revered Shiite shrine in a Damascus suburb.
By Wednesday, the few visitors in the area cast worried glances at the new guards of the Sayyida Zeinab shrine in the suburb of the same name, long known as a stronghold of pro-Iran fighters including Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.
"On Saturday night, the Hezbollah fighters began to leave," said Walid Haji, 45, an armed rebel posted to a checkpoint previously held by the Lebanese group.
