ALEPPO, Syria, Aug. 12 (UPI) — One of the longest-serving members of the Syria Civil Defense — who received global praise two years ago for rescuing a baby buried in a bombed out house — has been killed in the rebel stronghold of Aleppo, officials said Friday.
Khaled Omar Harah, a member of the rescue group also known as the “White Helmets,” was killed Thursday by a suspected Russian airstrike. He was helping to carry out a humanitarian mission in Aleppo.
“Mourning the loss of Khaled Omar. He saved countless lives, including the ‘miracle baby,'” the White Helmets tweeted Friday.
The rescue was captured on video, which was subsequently seen by millions around the world.
Khaled Omar. Hero to the young.
Syria Civil Defense/Twitter
The Syria Campaign, an advocacy group, said Mahmoud’s was just one of many lives Harah helped save in the last two years since he joined the civil defense. The White Helmets have repeatedly risked their lives to carry out dangerous rescue missions in war-torn Syria.
“Khaled was one of the earliest volunteers of the White Helmets, since joining he has responded to thousands of attacks — and he made the same choice thousands of times — to run towards bombs knowing he could be killed,” the group said in a Facebook post Friday. “Millions of people around the world have watched the Miracle Baby video and been inspired by Khaled and his bravery.”
It wasn’t initially known how Harah was killed, but the Syria Civil Defense said Thursday that Russia had carried out a chemical attack in Aleppo that killed four people. It wasn’t clear whether the 31-year-old Harah was one of them.
Thursday’s attacks occurred amid a temporary daily cease-fire — a three-hour period each day during which Russian pledge not to strike to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Assad’s regime, however, has been accused of violating the agreement.
Harah, who joined the White Helmets in 2014, had a wife and two young daughters.
“Humanity lost another hero,” the Syria Campaign said.
