<p>Naya (Syria): As Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years unfolded, a Sydney shopowner was captured on camera charging at one of the gunmen and disarming him. Halfway around the world in Syria, a group of men watching the footage recognised a familiar face.</p><p>Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, left his hometown in Syria's northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia. On Sunday, he was wounded after wrestling a rifle away from a man attacking a Jewish holiday event at Sydney's Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were killed.</p><p><strong>Syria is 'proud of him'</strong></p><p>His uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed, recognised him from footage circulating online.</p><p>"We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we're proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him," the uncle told Reuters. The family hails from the town of Nayrab, which was bombed heavily during Syria's nearly 14-year war, which ended when longtime leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a rebel offensive launched from Idlib last year.</p><p>Ahmed said his nephew left Syria in 2006 after completing a degree at Aleppo University. He hasn't been back since.</p><p>"Since he was young, he was gallant and a hero," his uncle said, describing him as a happy and passionate person.</p><p>"He acted impulsively without thinking who the people were that were being killed - without knowing their religion, if they were Muslim or Christian or Jewish. That's what made him jump up and carry out this heroic act."</p>.Bondi beach shooting | Police say one of 2 gunmen originally from Hyderabad, had limited contact with kin.<p>'PEACEMAKERS, NOT WARMONGERERS' Ahmed, who now holds Australian citizenship and has two daughters, remains in a Sydney hospital with gunshot wounds. He has been hailed as a hero around the world, including by U.S. President Donald Trump.</p><p>A GoFundMe campaign set up for him has raised more than A$2.2 million ($1.5 million).</p><p>Back at home, the Ahmed family home remains in ruins. Piles of smashed cinderblocks ring the concrete carcass of the two-storey house, whose walls are punctured by shelling.</p><p>"This is Ahmed's father's home. It got destroyed during the war. Bombing, bombing from planes, missiles - every type of weapon," Ahmed's cousin, who is also named Mohammad al-Ahmed, told Reuters.</p><p>He said his cousin "was the reason that many innocent people who did nothing wrong were saved."</p><p>"He will prove to the world that Muslims are peacemakers, not warmongerers," said Ahmed.</p>
<p>Naya (Syria): As Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years unfolded, a Sydney shopowner was captured on camera charging at one of the gunmen and disarming him. Halfway around the world in Syria, a group of men watching the footage recognised a familiar face.</p><p>Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, left his hometown in Syria's northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia. On Sunday, he was wounded after wrestling a rifle away from a man attacking a Jewish holiday event at Sydney's Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were killed.</p><p><strong>Syria is 'proud of him'</strong></p><p>His uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed, recognised him from footage circulating online.</p><p>"We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we're proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him," the uncle told Reuters. The family hails from the town of Nayrab, which was bombed heavily during Syria's nearly 14-year war, which ended when longtime leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a rebel offensive launched from Idlib last year.</p><p>Ahmed said his nephew left Syria in 2006 after completing a degree at Aleppo University. He hasn't been back since.</p><p>"Since he was young, he was gallant and a hero," his uncle said, describing him as a happy and passionate person.</p><p>"He acted impulsively without thinking who the people were that were being killed - without knowing their religion, if they were Muslim or Christian or Jewish. That's what made him jump up and carry out this heroic act."</p>.Bondi beach shooting | Police say one of 2 gunmen originally from Hyderabad, had limited contact with kin.<p>'PEACEMAKERS, NOT WARMONGERERS' Ahmed, who now holds Australian citizenship and has two daughters, remains in a Sydney hospital with gunshot wounds. He has been hailed as a hero around the world, including by U.S. President Donald Trump.</p><p>A GoFundMe campaign set up for him has raised more than A$2.2 million ($1.5 million).</p><p>Back at home, the Ahmed family home remains in ruins. Piles of smashed cinderblocks ring the concrete carcass of the two-storey house, whose walls are punctured by shelling.</p><p>"This is Ahmed's father's home. It got destroyed during the war. Bombing, bombing from planes, missiles - every type of weapon," Ahmed's cousin, who is also named Mohammad al-Ahmed, told Reuters.</p><p>He said his cousin "was the reason that many innocent people who did nothing wrong were saved."</p><p>"He will prove to the world that Muslims are peacemakers, not warmongerers," said Ahmed.</p>