Blast changed schoolboy’s life forever

Teenaged soldier left studies to battle ISIL insurgency.

Jamal Abdelnasser is one of the injured Iraqi civilians flown to Abu Dhabi to be treated in a UAE hospital. Naser Al Wasmi / The National

At just 17, and with no military training, Jamal Abdelnasser felt he had no choice but to leave school and take up arms against ISIL to protect his hometown.

It was a decision that changed his life forever as the Iraqi, from Majboor, was caught in a battle with the militants that left him severely injured.

“ISIL suicide bombers infiltrated our area. We surrounded them. One of them was on the rooftop holding a grenade,” said Jamal. “He threw it in front of me and when it detonated no one knew from where it hit.”

Jamal dropped to the floor to avoid the explosion but was still facing the shrapnel from the grenade. “Everything stopped and I didn’t know where it was going to explode, or how, so that moment was the time I tried to cover myself,” said Jamal.

Despite his efforts, the grenade exploded near his face and shrapnel flew towards him.

The blast left him with injuries to his head and eyes, one of which was severely damaged.

“Doctors tried to help and pulled pieces of bone from my skull during the operation,” said the teenager.

“My eye, however, is no longer aligned and they had to take me to Iran for treatment.”

Jamal, who is in the UAE for treatment to his skull and right eye, said that the fighting in his hometown had been going on for six months, with civilian fighters using guerrilla tactics under the guidance of some of the more experienced fighters from the war.

After the first month of fighting, he knew that school and the life he had been accustomed to was going to be put on hold.

“We have been resisting them for six months and I’m proud that we are the only ones who were able to prevent them from entering our area, Majboor,” he said.