Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed a 'source of pride' for family and friends in Syria

In a small Syrian town of besser brick homes and humble farms, residents are filled with pride.

The village of Al Nayrab, in north-west Syria, is the hometown of Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed, who disarmed one of the Bondi terrorists and was injured in the process.

The 43-year-old is currently in hospital in Sydney and has been having surgery for multiple gunshot wounds.

His relatives in Al Nayrab have been viewing social media videos of his exploits and are touched by the broader public response.

"Ahmed is a brave and honourable young man. He cannot tolerate injustice or corruption. He rejects wrongdoing and meanness," his uncle Wahid Al Ahmed told the ABC.

"He saw the scene before him, he saw people — human beings — lying on the ground.

"You know how Arabs, Syrians are: They carry dignity and a deep sense of honour, and they despise disgrace and betrayal."

Al Nayrab has about 6,500 residents and is near the city of Idlib, which was the base of the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham before it went on to overthrow the Assad dictatorship that ruled Syria.

People there told the ABC they worked in construction or had small farms, growing olives and grain and raising sheep and cattle.

Family and friends reflect on hero's background

Ahmed Al Ahmed's family said he left the town while studying in the mid-2000s, to look for work in Australia.

"Ahmed was a student," Wahid said.

"Circumstances forced him to leave and travel in search of work.

"He stayed in school for a year or two, then conditions allowed him to leave, and he travelled with the sole intention of working."

Wahid said his nephew served in the Syrian military prior to leaving the country, explaining how he knew how to handle a gun.

"He was properly trained, physically strong, and full of energy, enthusiasm, and determination," he said.

One of the town's residents, Abed el Rahman el Mohamad, remembered Ahmed Al Ahmed fondly.

"I know him. He is the son of my village," he said.

"Ahmed, since my childhood … was sharp-witted, a tough guy, and chivalrous in every sense of the word."

'It was a humanitarian act'

In 2020, Al Nayrab was on the front lines of Syria's civil war and was bombarded by Syrian regime forces and the Russian Air Force.

Many buildings have not been rebuilt because their owners cannot afford the cost.

Abed said the whole town was now proud to be associated with Ahmed Al Ahmed.

"We, as the people of the village of Al Nayrab, and me specifically, are proud of his action to save dozens of innocent lives who were about to lose their lives in this terrorist execution," he said.

"We in the village of Al Nayrab are proud of the act of heroism."

Ahmed Al Ahmed has become a celebrity right across the Arab world, with people expressing both pride and relief that an Arab — and a Muslim — had shown bravery and compassion across religious and political divides.

It is a small moment of light for a region that has been wracked by war and instability over the past two years.

"What Ahmed did is a source of pride for us, for Arabs, for Islam, and for Muslims, given that he performed a heroic act that saved a number of lives regardless of knowing if they were Christians or Muslims or otherwise," Ahmed Al Ahmed's uncle Mohammad Al Ahmed said.

"It was a humanitarian act he performed that we are proud of, and we have the pride for us, for Syria, and for the Arab nation in general."