Syria Chemical Attack: Sad!Father Cradles Lifeless Bodies Of His Twins +Photos

 After a barbaric suspected chemical attack on the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun, photos of a Syrian father clutching the lifeless bodies of his 9-month-old twins, Aya and Ahmed, attracted the collective sorrow and condemnation of the world. 

The images show 29-year-old Abdul-Hamid Alyousef cradling his deceased children’s bodies. In footage shared with the AP, he asks his cousin Alaa to record his emotional farewell to them. Alyousef can be seen choking back tears as he utters, “Say goodbye, baby, say goodbye.” 

Sadly, Aya and Ahmed were not the only family members Alyousef lost to the horrific attack, which began around 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday and killed at least 72 people. His wife was also killed, along with two of his brothers, two nephews, a niece, neighbors and friends. 

“I was right beside them and I carried them outside the house with their mother,” Alyousef, a shopkeeper, told the AP, recalling the moments after the airstrike occurred. “They were conscious at first, but 10 minutes later we could smell the odor.” 

Alyousef brought them to the paramedics and left to search for the rest of his family, assuming they would ultimately be OK. When he returned, however, he was told that wife and his children had all succumbed to the suspected toxic nerve agent.

 “I couldn’t save anyone, they’re all dead now,” the bereaved father said.

“Abdel Hameed is in very bad shape,” his cousin Alaa added. He is being treated for exposure to the toxin, but that’s not the worst of it, she told the AP. “He’s especially broken down over his massive loss.”