The Life of Imad Riyadh Bakur: An Early 'Syrian Hezbollah' Martyr

Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria in support of the Syrian government is most commonly associated with the year 2013 and the battle of al-Qusayr in Homs countryside near the border with Lebanon. Yet the reality is that the intervention goes back at least as far as 2012, including not only the deployment of personnel in a combat capacity but also in training and organising formations of local Syrian fighters affiliated with it.

The following post is a translation of a document issued by the office of the cleric Abdullah Nizam (Syria-based) and the Martyr Foundation of Syria. It documents in brief the life of Imad Riyadh Bakur, a ‘Syrian Hezbollah’ martyr killed in 2012.

Office of the eminent scholar Sayyid Abdullah Nizam (may God protect him)
Martyr Foundation- Syria

The mujahid martyr Imad Riyadh Bakur

- The hero martyr was born in the province of Aleppo countryside/al-Zahara’, in the year 1984.

- He grew up and was raised within a simple family that made sweets for a living.

- He studied at the primary and preparatory level in the Ghurba area in Damascus countryside.

- In the beginning of the events in the terrorist war on Syria, he joined the Local Defence Force on the basis of sentiment of obligation and his upbringing on the values his fighting father planted in him. His father- Riyadh Ramadan Bakur- currently works in service to the families of the martyrs.

- The martyr participated in many battles in defence of the shrine of our sayyida and mistress Zaynab (peace be upon her). He swore with his companions: “By God Zaynab (peace be upon her) will not be taken captive twice.”

- On 4 September 2012, their contingent affiliated with the formations of Hezbollah and consisting of 12 mujahideen mobilised in order to distribute them [the fighters] on sentinel point whereby each two personnel would be responsible for a specific point along the al-Mustaqbal road after the al-Alaktron checkpoint. The personnel’s mission was to protect the road because it is considered the sole entry point for the area of Sayyida Zaynab (peace be upon her). While the mujahid Imad was at his guard post, he saw that a service taxi carrying a terrorist contingent with the intention of blocking the road had slipped through. He and the mujahid Muhammad al-Ajami repelled and clashed with the armed men, which led to the wounding of Muhammad al-Ajami and the martyrdom of the martyr Imad. When the gunfire was heard, the rest of the mujahideen arrived and the armed men fled without achieving their aims.

The martyr has a family composed of a wife and three children (two boys and one girl). His father has taken responsibility for raising them on the path of their father.