Scots charity's agony as Iraqi orphan is slain

By Sarah Johnson Sunday Post
A 15-YEAR-OLD Iraqi orphan, who'd been cared for in Baghdad by a Scottish charity, has been executed by local thugs.
The boy, called Mohaned, went missing at the end of May after helping a family who'd been warned to leave the area following a bitter dispute in the neighbourhood.
Two days later the Baghdad Shelter, a sanctuary for children set up in the Iraqi capital by Glasgow man Ahmad Rustam, received word that the teenager had been killed.
The courageous youngster had been shot in the head, dumped at the side of a road and left to rot.
Targeted
Ahmad's Scots wife, Annie explained, "He was targeted for befriending a family in the shelter's neighbourhood and helping them to move.
"He was a brave boy. His death was really gruesome and the actions of pure thuggery. It's beyond comprehension that anyone is capable of killing a young boy for simply helping his friends.
"When Mohaned went missing the shelter's manager, Qussai, put his own life at risk trying to find him. He drove round the streets, in areas he shouldn't have, searching for him.

Warned
"When he got the call saying Mohaned was dead, he went to recover his body, which was dumped in an area of the city he wasn't allowed to enter. But he was given 10 minutes.
"He was warned that the body could be booby-trapped but he was determined to return with Mohaned. By the time his body was discovered it had decomposed in the extreme heat and been ravaged by dogs."
As a result of the manager's bravery the boy's body was returned to relatives and buried according to tradition last week.
Qussai said, "Our culture and upbringing as genuine Iraqis and the true teachings of our religion is much stronger than those criminal killers who are trading in the blood of our people to satisfy their hate for everything that is human.
"Believe me, those who murdered Mohaned and other dear Iraqis, they are nothing but a creation of the occupation and those who came with the occupation. The voice of justice will prevail so long as we can work collectively."
Annie added, "We know who killed Mohaned and it wasn't a sectarian attack."
Shelter
Mohaned became one of the thousands of children forced to live on the streets after his parents were killed when the bus they were travelling in came under fire from American attack in 2003. Last year he became the fourth child to be taken in by Ahmad and the Baghdad Shelter.
Ahmad (45), who fled Saddam Hussein's regime in 1978 to Glasgow, returned to open the shelter in his former home in the Iraqi capital last June. He's said to be horrified at the brutality, and senselessness of the murder of the young boy.
This latest devastating blow for the shelter follows the murder of 10-year-old Mustafa and his sister Shahed (11) last year, who both died after a car bomb exploded outside the safe haven for orphans.
Annie added, "When Mohaned came to live at the shelter he had no hope, trusted no-one and looked so sad. He'd had a harrowing life. But he had just learned to smile again."