WATCH: Abuzar Ahamad was the only member of his immediate family to survive a Taliban attack on a Kabul hotel in March. Now he has arrived in Canada to start a new life with his extended family. Shirlee Engel reports.
A two-year-old Afghan boy who was hit with five bullets during an attack on a luxury hotel in Kabul is now in Canada to start a new life with his relatives.
Abuzar Ahmad, the only member of his immediate family to survive the Mar. 20 assault on the Kabul Serena Hotel, arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport Wednesday night.
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It surprised almost everyone that he survived: the bullets hit several parts of his body, including his head.
His father, Sardar Ahmad, a 40-year-old reporter for Agence France-Press, died after four gunmen opened fire in the hotel restaurant, as did his mother and his two older siblings.
The gunmen, all affiliated with the Taliban, slipped small pistols past security in their shoes and waited three hours before opening fire in the restaurant.
They killed a total of nine people during the rampage, two of them were Canadians.
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Abuzar’s extended family live in Canada and decided to bring the boy to Ontario as he recovers and adjusts to life without his parents and siblings.
His doctors wanted him to be in a safe and family environment, his uncle Bashir Mirzad – Sardar Ahmad’s brother – told Global News earlier this month.
But, Abuzar’s physical recovery has been remarkable. After the shooting he spent three days in a coma and underwent three operations at the Emergency Surgical Centre for War Victims in Kabul.
“When I saw him the first time I thought he will not make it,” Mirzad said. “I was not very hopeful. But… he recovered in 5 days.”
With files from Mike Drolet and Jennifer Tryon
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