Afghan baby handed over to US soldiers over razor wire at Kabul’s airport

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) - Afghan parents handed over their sick baby over a wall of razor fence to a US soldier at the Kabul airport to be taken care of, media outlets said on Sunday, adding that the baby was reunited with the family, and is now safe.

An extraordinary video footage and a series of photos showed the whole world the heart-breaking moment when a crying Afghan baby was being handed over a razor fence to a US soldier at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital Kabul.

The soldier in the video footage looks trembling as he holds the baby, reported to be a girl, in his arms, and lifts her over barbed wire on the wall around the airport as thousands of Afghans have been trying to flee the Taliban-controlled country.

The footage also shows that the soldier, who took the baby girl from her father, gives her to his fellow marine next to him.

The second soldier, as he is taking the baby from the first soldier, seems scared at that moment when he notices that the baby is too close to the barbed wire.

The media outlets reported that the reason why the baby girl was handed over to US soldiers was because she needed proper medical care as the family did not have that opportunity.

The baby was reunited with her family after receiving treatment at a Norwegian hospital at the airport.

She is currently safe at the airport, a US soldier told the press.

Following the incident, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby described what happened as "an act of compassion."

The unexpected power grab by the Taliban has triggered a rush to flee Afghanistan, including civilians who assisted foreign soldiers or groups and now fear retribution.