A courageous Iraqi Army unit saves an orphaned 4-year-old girl when Daesh massacred her family in Mosul
UNIPATH STAFF
The battle for Mosul was raging when the leading edge of the 36th Mechanized Brigade, Iraqi 9th Armored Division, came up against Daesh snipers lodged in a multistoried hospital in the Zanjili district. The hospital commanded views of the city’s roads, allowing the terrorists to impede Iraqi troops and target escaping civilians.
The Soldiers spotted 150 to 200 civilians — mostly women and children — scurrying across the alleys to reach the safety of their lines. Iraqi commanders quickly issued orders: Cease fire! Let the civilians pass!
Daesh possessed no such scruples. From their sniper holes and hideouts, the terrorists unleashed fire on the escaping families, mowing down women and children without remorse. Within minutes everyone was dead.
“We were shocked when, suddenly, terrorists turned their weapons on these innocent people,” said Brig. Gen. Mustafa Sabah Alazawi, the unit’s commander.
A half-hour after the crime, troops spotted the movement of a child in the pile of bodies. She was cowering under her mother’s blood-soaked abaya, surrounded by the bodies of her father, sisters, aunts and uncles. She was isolated, terrified, cold and alone.
As Gen. Mustafa and his men were soon to learn, this tiny orphan was only 4 years old. Her name was Taiba.
Despite the difficulties of attempting a rescue — the terrorists still occupied the tactically advantageous hospital — Brig. Gen. Mustafa and his men drew up detailed plans to save the girl at any cost:
“I ordered the advance of an Abrams tank and armored vehicles and heavy fire to suppress the sources of enemy fire, and I sought air support from coalition forces. Our group included a medical team from an American nongovernmental organization… . As we approached the site of the bodies, we set off smoke bombs to obscure Daesh snipers’ vision. We quickly pulled the little girl out, made sure there were no other injured, and withdrew in our armored vehicles.”
The knowledge that the child had endured a terrifying ordeal surrounded by the bodies of her family members was difficult for the Soldiers to absorb. Her bloody clothes and the horror and sadness in her eyes were devastating.
“When the Soldiers took her out of the armored vehicle and saw her for the first time — her clothes were blood-soaked and she was in shock because of what she went through. I couldn’t control my emotions as I looked into her innocent eyes. Thinking about her family, I began to cry without even realizing it,” the general said. “I stayed with her at brigade headquarters for five days, begging her to eat and plying her with food. But she cried whenever we tried to feed her.
“But on the third day, after I had been away from headquarters since dawn, she was waiting for me in the evening, greeted me when I entered, and agreed to eat with me. My joy at this positive development was indescribable, and we ate together, beginning our father-daughter relationship. I gave her everything she needed and treated her as my daughter, to the point that she began to eat only from my hand.
“But we were in a fierce battle, in a headquarters filled with weapons, and Soldiers cannot recreate the warmth of a home or family. For that reason, I asked one of the families near our headquarters to take care of the girl. Umm Ayman was the woman who volunteered to care of the girl, who would act as her mother and treat her as her own daughter.”
But Brig. Gen. Mustafa continued to share evening meals with the girl at headquarters. On one such night he noticed something disturbing.
“Even though she agreed to eat, she ate very little, her stomach began to bulge, and her temperature rose. I sought the advice of Victor Max, director of an American nonprofit organization called ACB. The organization sent her to a hospital in Erbil, where she stayed for a week. After her condition improved, she returned to live with us for three months, during which she became the focus of the Soldiers, who played with her and showered her with parental affection. We shared her sorrow and joy, her suffering and victory. I was her “papa” and made her feel safe. I provided her and her host family with all the water and food they needed.”
The generosity of Umm Ayman perfectly encapsulates Iraqi hospitality. She recounts her story:
“That morning, I heard a knock on the door, and when I opened it, I saw Brig. Gen. Mustafa Alazawi, leader of the nearby brigade. In his arms was the girl whose story has become the talk of the town since she was rescued by the heroes of the 36th Mechanized Brigade. The story of this stricken girl has strained our hearts with its sadness and pain, for Daesh’s crimes against humanity, including murdering her family, are unprecedented and a complete repudiation of Islam. [Alazawi] said to me, ‘Umm Ayman, you are the best person to take care of this girl because I heard so much good about your family from the neighbors. You also know that we are an army, and we cannot provide her with enough compassion or care for her the way a mother would. I hope you can help me.’
“I smiled and continued the conversation. I was happy to hear what the general said, and I could see from Taiba’s appearance that she needed a mother. I immediately took her in. Her clothes were blood-soaked and in tatters, and her hair was filled with dirt and dried blood. She didn’t speak, but just cried, with great fear in her eyes. I began to bathe her to clean the blood and mud off her body and dressed her in new clothes. At last she seemed to feel some relief. We had a mother-daughter relationship from that moment on. Brig. Gen. Mustafa’s Soldiers brought us clothes and food so that we could feed her despite our challenging conditions and the scarcity of food and water due to the fighting. I have never seen men as generous and brave as the sons of our heroic Army. They wept for her, trying to care for her however possible. Every day they brought her sweets, asking if we needed anything. I was filled with joy and pride in their presence.”
But Taiba’s story and the search for her relatives became Gen. Mustafa’s concern because he was sure it would be difficult for anyone to love and care for the girl like her own family could.
“Despite the knowledge that her father, mother, brothers, and aunts and uncles were all killed that day, and no one from her family remained alive, I couldn’t help but hope. I carried her through the streets of Zanjili hoping to find her relatives. We published her photos on flyers and social media pages. I was ready to adopt her, and many members of our brigade expressed the same willingness, but I knew her own family would provide the warmth and tenderness she needed.”
As he recalled those days, the general wiped away tears.
At the same time, Umm Ayman searched among her neighbors for someone who knew Taiba.
“I took her with me to visit some of my neighbors who hadn’t left the area, and I asked them if they knew any of her relatives. Whenever I got a tip, I told Gen. Mustafa, who came to see me every evening when he returned from battle. All the neighbors were working to help this child.”
Brig. Gen. Mustafa continued to post stories and pictures about Taiba on social media and Iraqi news stations, and he kept knocking on the doors in the Zanjili neighborhood to see if anyone knew her.
“After Taiba had lived with us for three months, she grew accustomed to living with Soldiers. The chefs at our headquarters knew her favorite meal, and they always raced to provide whatever she asked for. She started to smile, pout and play with them. Umm Ayman’s family grew to love her deeply. Mosul was liberated from the abomination of terror, but there remained a sadness in my heart whenever I looked at Taiba and saw the fear of the future in her eyes. I was sure that we wouldn’t stay in this town much longer and would instead continue our fight in other cities. How would I take Taiba with me, and would she be willing to live with another family in a new place?
“At this point, I was contacted by a family from Diyala province; they told me they were her aunt’s family. The aunt’s husband came from Diyala to Mosul (400 kilometers) to meet me, but I hesitated to hand her over because there were no official documents, and because Taiba interacted with him as if she were meeting him for the first time. After I refused, one of the sheikhs of the Izzah tribe — which I belong to and which happens to be Taiba’s mother’s tribe as well — came to me. He knew her family and was able to give me more proof. But despite all my respect and appreciation for him, I refused to give her to him unless the girl knew the family. I agreed to allow him to come with her aunt and grandmother to see if she knew them, and indeed, they bore the burden of the difficult trip from Diyala to Zanjili and came to our headquarters.
“When Taiba set eyes on her grandmother, she recognized and embraced her, crying in her arms for a long time, as if she were complaining to them or scolding them for leaving her alone for so long. I was reassured that this really was her family, and I felt great relief. I thank God that we could save this girl from death at the hands of killers, and that we didn’t leave her to wander or be killed in Mosul’s streets. We have upheld the military’s honor by protecting a daughter of the homeland.”
Taiba now lives with her grandmother and appears content. Brig. Gen. Mustafa remains in constant contact, hoping her extended family provides her with maternal love and kindness and psychological care that would allow her to forget the recent horrors. Meanwhile, the story of the girl’s rescue has come to the attention of the Iraqi media.
“One journalist asked me how I balanced my duties as a commander with my affection and care for the child. I told him that we are Iraqis and we fight for these people — our people — and are deeply affected by the shedding of innocent blood. This girl went through so much; her story is tragic. As Iraqis, we can’t ignore the misfortune of this innocent girl. I went out to the front lines each morning at dawn and returned each evening, and she was brought to me, and we would have dinner together. With God’s help, I was able to take care of her while fulfilling my duties as a commander leading the battle.”
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