Enemies and Angels: Opposing Soldiers Who Saved Each Other
When Najah Aboud got wounded during the Iran-Iraq war, he crawled into a bunker to die. It was there that the Iraqi soldier was found by Iranian medic, Zahed Haftlang. Zahed made a split-second decision: to save his enemy's life. So he risked his own -- twice -- to get Najah to a field hospital. Neither man knew that nearly...
CBC Radio ·
Wounded during the Iran-Iraq war, Najah Aboud (L) crawled into a bunker to die. The Iraqi soldier was found by Iranian medic, Zahed Haftlang (R) who saved him. Two decades later, they would be reunited by total chance halfway on the other side of the world. (Greg Kelly/CBC)
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Ideas54:00Enemies and Angels
When Najah Aboud got wounded during the Iran-Iraq war, he crawled into a bunker to die. It was there that the Iraqi soldier was found by Iranian medic, Zahed Haftlang. Zahed made a split-second decision: to save his enemy's life. So he risked his own — twice — to get Najah to a field hospital.
Neither man knew that nearly twenty years later, and on the other side of the world, a breathtaking coincidence would reunite them in another life-saving encounter.
**This episode originally aired on December 23, 2014.
Ideas1:13How a photo saved a life
Zahed Haftlang was an Iranian soldier clearing a bunker in the Iran-Iraq war when he came across a gravely wounded Iraqi, Najah Aboud. This excerpt is the moment Zahed decided to risk everything and save his enemy's life
This story first came to our attention in an article titled Blood Brothers published in Vancouver Magazine written by Vancouver journalist, Timothy Taylor.
For more on the story of Zahed and Najah, including videos and photos, go to the Maclean`s article His Brother's Keeper
**This episode was produced by Greg Kelly
Watch the trailer for the award-winning short documentary My Enemy, My Brother by Canadian filmmaker Ann Shin
