Syrian Teen Who Survived ISIS in Deir ez-Zor Killed in Turkey
Ali Shihab, a 14-year-old Syrian boy who survived a 2017 operation against ISIS in Deir ez-Zor that killed most of his family, had come to Adana, Turkey, six weeks earlier to work.
RastinewsAli Shihab, a 14-year-old Syrian boy who survived a Dec. 31, 2017 operation against ISIS in Deir ez-Zor that killed most of his family, had arrived in Adana 40 days earlier to find work. He was killed by the father of another boy after a dispute between the two children.
"Racist attack on a 5-year-old alleged"
According to the account, Ali Shihab was loading scrap metal onto a truck outside the scrapyard where he worked around midday on Friday, Aug. 21. A 5-year-old boy wearing a T-shirt bearing Syria's new flag was playing nearby in the street. Another boy, said to be a 15-year-old Turkish national, allegedly launched a racist attack on the younger child and demanded he take off the shirt.
Ali's cousin, Hammoud al-Hammoud, described the events to Bianet
Ali and another boy who worked with him stepped in to calm the Turkish boy down. The two sides parted ways, and Ali and his co-worker went back to work. A short time later, the Turkish boy returned with his parents and beat Ali and the other child. Neighbors intervened and calmed the family down. But the father came back later in a white car and fired two shots at Ali as he loaded scrap onto the truck. Ali was hit in the back and the leg. He was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.
The attacker fled the scene. Adana Provincial Police Headquarters is still working to catch him.
"We'll learn the details once the killer is caught"
Emir Ali Emir, the lawyer handling the case, said: "The investigation is ongoing. Police have produced a photograph of the killer and are continuing their work. It's still very recent — we'll learn the details once the killer is caught."
Family threatened with death
Ali's cousin, Hammoud al-Hammoud, said the family had been threatened but would not give up seeking justice.
"They sent word. They said, 'Send the boy's body back to Syria and withdraw the complaint, or we'll kill everyone.' The state needs to look into this. The boy had just arrived to work. Why did they kill him over a fight between two kids? We won't stop until justice is done. His mother and siblings are devastated."
Ali's story
Ali Shihab's mother and siblings, whose home was destroyed in Syria's civil war, live in a grain silo.
The Shihab family is from the village of Sikkir in Busayrah, in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province. When ISIS controlled territory spanning Syria and Iraq, borders in the area were erased, and an Iraqi family had settled in Sikkir during that period.
The U.S.-led anti-ISIS Coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were carrying out operations in neighborhoods and villages across Deir ez-Zor.
Two family members killed in a single day
Coalition and SDF forces during the operation on Sikkir village / Photo: social media
According to al-Hammoud's account, someone from the village reported the Iraqi family to the SDF as ISIS members. On Dec. 31, 2017, Coalition forces struck from the air while the SDF moved in on the ground in an operation on Sikkir village. The Shihab family was caught in the crossfire. The reported family was detained in the operation; four members of the Shihab family were killed and one was wounded.
Ali Shihab was 8 years old at the time. His 28-year-old father, Dahham, his 2-year-old full sister, Nazhan, his 1-year-old half-sister, Nabhan, and his 20-year-old stepmother, Rim, were killed. His mother, Wajed, now 31, was wounded. Ali survived.
The Coalition flew the bodies of the dead by helicopter to a hospital in Shaddadi. The remains were later brought back to the village and handed over to the family.
The Iraqi family accused of ISIS ties was released once the report was found to be false. Coalition officials, working through the SDF's Arab commanders and tribal leaders, said the episode had stemmed from a misunderstanding and apologized for what had happened.
Father Dahham Shihab, and Ali Shihab, killed in Adana.
"People were dying everywhere"
Speaking to Bianet, Ali's cousin Hammoud al-Hammoud said: "There were operations every single day back then. People were dying like that everywhere."
Ali had two sisters, 8-year-old Aya and 10-year-old Rawa. He also had a 9-year-old brother, Shukri, who is ill.
To support his family, Ali had crossed into Turkey illegally through the Akcakale border crossing 40 days earlier and found work at a scrapyard in Adana. He sent his earnings home to his mother, both to cover the family's living costs and to pay for his sick brother's treatment.
Source: Bianet