Ali Ismail Abbas (born 1991) is an

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i man who drew media attention after being severely injured in a night-time aerial missile attack near

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

during the United States' 2003

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

Injury

During the attack, two American missiles landed on his family's home, killing his parents (his mother was pregnant with another child at the time), his brother and 13 other members of his family. Both of Ali's arms had to be

amputate Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is c ...

d and

third-degree burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), solids, ...

s covered at least 35 percent of his body. He was 12 years old at the time. He underwent treatment in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, and later in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he was fitted with robotic prosthetic arms, paid for by the Kuwaiti government. He no longer uses the arms, having found them too heavy and unwieldy, although he wore artificial arms while attending school so as not to draw attention to himself. He attended the

Hall School Wimbledon Hall School Wimbledon (HSW) is a co-educational non-selective independent day school in Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in t ...

Citizenship

On January 1, 2010, it was announced Ali Abbas would get a British passport. Ali had offers from other countries, such as Canada and the United States, but he turned them down because they would not take his friend with him.

Publicity

In 2004, ''The Ali Abbas Story'' was written about Ali by Jane Warren and published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. He was featured on ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' on 13 May 2007. He was featured in the September 2011 edition of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine.

Limbless Association

The Limbless Association (LA) set up a dedicated fund to assist those rendered amputees by the Iraq conflict. During a visit to Iraq LA Chairman Zafar Khan met Ahmad Hamza, a 14-year-old boy who had also been injured in the Iraq conflict, resulting in his right leg and left hand being amputated. The Limbless Association pledged to use the Ali Fund to help both Ali and Ahmad. LA was the legal guardian for both Ali and Ahmad until they reached 18 years of age.

The Baghdad Bikers

Ali and his friends go on a publicity bike ride every year, called the Baghdad Bikers.

Notes

References

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External links

Limbless Association official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas, Ali Ismail 1991 births Living people People without hands Iraqi amputees Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom People educated at Hall School Wimbledon