Under the title "Do You Remember the Baby Rescued by a U.S. Soldier at Kabul Airport? Here is What Happened to Him," Al Arabiya reported that the fate of the infant handed over to a U.S. soldier over the wall of Kabul airport during the evacuation from Afghanistan remains unknown, despite his images going viral on social media.
Mirza Ali Ahmadi described a sudden decision he made when he, his wife Suraya, and their five children found themselves amidst the chaos outside Kabul's airport gates on August 19. An American soldier, peering over a high fence, asked if they needed help. Fearing for the safety of their two-month-old baby, Sohail, in the overwhelming crowd, they handed him over to the soldier, believing they would soon reach the entrance just 16 feet (5 meters) away.
However, at that moment, Mirza Ali noted that the Taliban — which rapidly took control of the country as U.S. forces withdrew — began pushing back hundreds of people hoping for evacuation. It took over half an hour for the rest of the family to reach the other side of the airport fence, and once inside, Sohail was nowhere to be found.
According to a Reuters report, Mirza Ali, who claimed he worked as a security guard at the U.S. embassy for ten years, began asking every official he encountered about the whereabouts of his child. After questioning more than 20 people, he stated that a military officer informed him that the airport was too dangerous for an infant, and the baby might have been taken to a special area for children, but when they arrived there, it was empty.
The baby's mother, Suraya, who also spoke through a translator, mentioned that she cried most of the time, and her other children were in shock. In a refugee camp in New Mexico, Suraya expressed, "All I do is think about my baby. Everyone who calls me, my mother, my father, my sister, is trying to reassure me, saying 'Don’t worry, your son will be found.'"
Mirza (35) and his wife Suraya (32), along with their children, were evacuated to Qatar and then to Germany before being moved to Texas in the United States. Mirza noted he witnessed other families hand their children to soldiers at the airport.
A support group for Afghan refugees has circulated a plea titled "Missing Child" featuring a photo of Sohail on social media, hoping someone might recognize him. A U.S. government official familiar with the situation stated that all relevant agencies had been notified about Sohail, and the last sighting of the baby was during his handover to a U.S. soldier amidst the chaos at Kabul airport, but "unfortunately, no one can find the child."
Following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, the U.S. hurriedly established an air bridge to evacuate foreigners and Afghans who might face retaliation from the movement. Thirteen U.S. soldiers were killed in an attack by ISIS-Khorasan targeting the evacuation operation outside Kabul airport.
