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Al-Anzy, The First Arab POW Returns From Afghanistan
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| Al Anzy spent 53 days in captivity and is now back in Kuwait |
Report By Abdelrahman Saad
KUWAIT, Feb 9 (IslamOnline) - The first Arab prisoner of war returned from Afghanistan, Friday. After spending 53 days in captivity, the young 16-year-old Kuwaiti boy was greeted at Kuwait International airport by a few Kuwaiti officials and family members.
There are more Kuwaiti prisoners in Afghanistan, some probably in Guantanamo. Kuwaiti security sources estimate their number to reach 30 to 40.
Khaled Al-Garallah, undersecretary of the Kuwaiti foreign ministry, told the Kuwaiti news agency (KUNA) that the return of the prisoner, Mohammad Al-Anzy, took place after a series of contacts with the Afghani authorities.
Kuwaiti sources told IslamOnline that Al-Anzy was released after it was confirmed that he was not involved in any fighting or terrorist activities in Afghanistan.
Al-Anzy reached Kuwait's Airport on a 'Hercules' military plane from Kabul. Press sources said that Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khaled, the Kuwaiti foreign minister asked that the investigations with Al Anzy starts a couple of days after his arrival to guarantee that he takes his full rest from his captivity and travelling.
In an interview with Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al Rai Al Aam on Friday, Al-Anzy said that he was not harmed, adding that the Northern Alliance forces imprisoned him after the U.S. raided the mountain in which he and his father were hiding.
His father died, after being injured severely in the back on the 15th of Ramadan, while Al-Anzy was injured lightly and was imprisoned. He was placed in a prison, which was part of the Ministry of Defense in Kabul before being handed over to the Kuwaiti authorities.
He pointed out that the American forces made some investigations with his comrades but did not investigate with the majority of them, while they took some of them.
Al-Anzy told his tale:
"I traveled to Afghanistan with my father in a humanitarian relief mission with the 'Wafa' organization. We were in Kabul when the northern alliance forces entered it and the Arab fighters went to Jalalabad. I went there with my father and stayed in the mountain.
"Throughout the night there was an American plane over the mountain that detected body heat and fired at us, injuring some and killing others.
"After being injured, I stayed in my place. After the helicopter left the area, one of the members of the group staying with us came to see us. He was Algerian, named Abu Abdullah. There was also one doctor with us but he could not tend to us all.
"I asked one of my comrades to come and help me to sleep on one of the rocks, then I went to my father who asked me for some water. He drank and said that he wanted to sleep. I laid down next to him and after a while someone tried to wake my father up but he never did. They told me that he died affected with his injuries.
"I remained in my place, till the fighters of Hadrat Aly, a leader in the northern alliance forces which controls Jalalabad, helped us and transferred us to the hospital before handing us over to the government in Kabul. After investigations we were released by the will of Allah."
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