Syrian minister calls hero who disarmed Sydney shooter

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani spoke over phone on Wednesday with Ahmed al-Ahmed, who heroically wrestled a gun from a shooter at Bondi Beach in Sydney during a deadly attack.

During the contact, the top diplomat told Ahmed he was asked by President Ahmad al-Sharaa to check on his health condition and convey to him his get-well wishes, according to a video of the phone call received by Anadolu.

Ahmed thanked President Sharaa and Shaibani for their kind attention.

"In the near future, I will come back to my country and see those beautiful, heroic faces that removed injustice and ended oppression against the people," Ahmed told the Syrian minister.

Videos showed Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian from al-Nayrab village of the Idlib governorate, northwest Syria, running and wresting a gun from a shooter during an attack which killed 15 people and injured 42 others at Bondi beach in Sydney.

Ahmed, who holds Australian citizenship, was reportedly shot five times on his arm and shoulder during the attack and taken to the St. George Hospital in southern Sydney.

He was hailed as a "hero" by Australian officials, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well as by US President Donald Trump.