As Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years unfolded, a Sydney shop owner was captured on camera charging at one of the gunmen and disarming him. Halfway around the world in Syria, a group of men watching the footage recognized a familiar face.
Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, left his hometown in Syria's northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia. On Sunday, he was wounded after wrestling a rifle away from a man attacking a Jewish holiday event at Sydney's Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were killed.
SYRIA IS 'PROUD OF HIM'
His uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed, recognized him from footage circulating online.
"We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we're proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him," the uncle told Reuters.
The family hails from the town of Nayrab, which was bombed heavily during Syria's nearly 14-year war, which ended when longtime leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted in an opposition offensive launched from Idlib last year.
Ahmed said his nephew left Syria in 2006 after completing a degree at Aleppo University. He hasn't been back since.
"Since he was young, he was gallant and a hero," his uncle said, describing him as a happy and passionate person.
"He acted impulsively without thinking who the people were that were being killed - without knowing their religion, if they were Muslim or Christian or Jewish. That's what made him jump up and carry out this heroic act."
'PEACEMAKERS, NOT WARMONGERERS'
Ahmed, who now holds Australian citizenship and has two daughters, remains in a Sydney hospital with gunshot wounds. He has been hailed as a hero around the world, including by US President Donald Trump.
A GoFundMe campaign set up for him has raised more than A$2.2 million ($1.5 million).
Back at home, the Ahmed family home remains in ruins. Piles of smashed cinderblocks ring the concrete carcass of the two-storey house, whose walls are punctured by shelling.
"This is Ahmed's father's home. It got destroyed during the war. Bombing, bombing from planes, missiles - every type of weapon," Ahmed's cousin, who is also named Mohammad al-Ahmed, told Reuters.
He said his cousin "was the reason that many innocent people who did nothing wrong were saved."
"He will prove to the world that Muslims are peacemakers, not warmongers," said Ahmed.
