BAGHDAD — A salesman rescued a baby from a blaze ignited by a car bombing in a Shiite neighborhood Tuesday, reaching through the shattered vehicle window and grabbing the boy after the blast killed his mother and eight other people.
The rescue highlighted the often overlooked role of Iraqi civilians in the aftermath of such bombings. Iraqis tend to try to help one another after bombings and often drive victims to hospitals because ambulances can be slow in getting to the scene.
Salesman Asad Raad rushed out of his motorcycle shop after the explosion. He plucked the infant from the back seat, where he lay next to his dead mother.
Rescuers pulled a badly burned man, presumed to be the baby’s father, from the car and rushed him to the hospital. In the confusion, no one at the scene determined the couple’s names.
“The baby suffered light burns in the face,” Raad said. “I took the baby to my house and called the police. They told me to keep him for the time being.”
“If nobody comes forward to claim him, my family is thinking of adopting him. . . . I cannot stand still and watch. I will do everything possible to protect the baby who lost his mother.”
