Abdul Hamid al-Yousef lost 19 of his
relatives after a suspected chemical gas
attack and subsequent bombing raids on the
rural village they lived in. The attack which
has been blamed on Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, killed more than 80 people
including at least 30 children. 
Heartbreaking images show him crying
uncontrollably over the graves of his dead
wife and nine-month-old twin children. He
cradled his babies in the crook of his arm,
stroking their heads. ‘My children. My
children. They were beautiful,’ the widower
said as he visited their graves.
His friends had to lift him to his feet and
wipe his nose as he sobbed uncontrollably.
Abdul later revealed in an interview how his
relatives’ homes were destroyed by the
airstrikes and when he discovered his wife
and children had died from chemical
poisoning.
‘I didn’t think to go back to see my children.
I helped the people around me then got in
the car and went to my parent’s home. The
whole family was sleeping. I woke up to the
sound of the first strike. It was next to my
house. I got my children and my wife but we
didn’t know there was Sarin or any kind of
gas at the time. Five minutes later there was
a second strike. I looked and saw the it hit
my parent’s house. Another five minutes
later and this time it hit our relatives, my
uncle’s house. I didn’t know what I was
supposed to do. I gave my children to my
wife and told them to go hide.’
Noticing that his wife and children were
beginning to fall ill, Abdul took them to a
paramedic before heading out to help pull
victims from the wreckage. As they dragged
people from their homes, they noticed a
strange odour and soon began to succumb
to the effects of what is believed to be the
deadly nerve agent sarin dropped from the
government jets.
‘I put some cloth in my hand and started
breathing through it. As soon as I got there I
saw my older brother, Yasser. He was dead.
He was holding his son, his little one Amar.
They were both dead. Right on top of each
other,’ he said.
After he accompanied the victims to the
hospital that, he asked where his wife and
babies were. ‘Where’s my family? Ahmad
and Aya and my wife, where are they? They
brought them to me. They were dead.’
Despite witnessing the death of his loved
ones, he refuses to leave Syria. Abdul’s
cousin also revealed how the babies died.
”The family was all waiting down there and
were safe, but then they started choking.
The twins suddenly began shaking and
struggling to breathe. ‘Everyone died down
there in the basement, they didn’t have time
to get to the hospital,’ he said.
Dr Mamoun Najem, a doctor who treated
victims of the attack, compared them to
zombies. He told the Telegraph:
‘Their pupils were as small as
pinpricks, their skin was cold. They
were unresponsive like zombies.
Chemical attacks leave no marks. It’s
a silent killer that works its way
through the body slowly.’
Moore photos below…
