Marcus Luttrell, (pictured top left and bottom third from the right), was a US Navy SEAL assigned to Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan, 2005. The purpose of Operation Red Wings was to locate Ahmad Shah, a key Taliban affiliate believed to be hiding somewhere on the mountainous slopes of Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. However, the mission soon proved full of fatalities as a clash between the SEALs and Taliban forces resulted in the deaths of all the men pictured above, except for Luttrell. Although severely injured, Marcus Luttrell lay alive and hidden away in a wooded area, narrowly avoiding detection by passing enemies.
Miraculously, Marcus was later discovered by a local villager named Mohammad Gulab, (pictured top) who was able to discretely assist the wounded US soldier and transport him back to his own home. Once there, all the villagers collectively sought to protect Luttrell in accordance with ‘Pashtunwali’, a set of ancient principles which outline that a community should provide protection for another individual against his/her enemies at all costs. He remained within the community for four days, during which time Gulab was brutally interrogated by the Taliban for hiding an American soldier. At one point, they broke into Gulab’s home and beat him for hours during questioning, and he was also told his entire family would be killed if he did not disclose Luttrell’s location. However, he bravely did not cooperate. Finally, the US Air Force sent in a helicopter to retrieve Marcus and he was transported home to safety.
Since it emerged that Mohammad had been protecting a soldier of the opposition, the Taliban burned down his house and murdered his cousin, and several other attempts had also been made to take the lives of his children. Despite this, he expressed no regrets for what he did and the friendship forged between himself and Marcus. However, their relationship has since deteriorated. During Mohammad’s trip to the US, Luttrell had promised Gulab help with seeking asylum as his life was now in great danger, but he did not keep his promise due to a new busy lifestyle and Mohammad returned to insecurity in Afghanistan. Luttrell had also promised Gulab a significant amount of money from a book and movie deal to provide for his family, but this did not materialise while Luttrell profited hugely. Mohammad recalls returning home and having to sleep with a Kalashnikov by his side to protect himself and his family.
Fortunately, Mohammad successfully sought refuge through the UN and he now lives in Fort Warth, Texas with his family. While he still struggles to support his family, he is simply grateful for their safety away from vigilante Taliban soldiers. The award winning movie ‘Lone Survivor’ is based on this heroic story, although Mohammad has raised concerns that aspects of the film have been fabricated in favour of Marcus’ version of events.
