What became of Syrian soldier Mahmud Bin Ali, ID No. 16241?
The question is on the minds of two Israeli boys from the settlement of Katzrin in the occupied Golan Heights. The soldier's identity is clearly printed on the two military tags which the settlers discovered while hiking in the occupied part of the Golan Heights recently.
The two hope to be able to contact the soldier or his family members so that they may return the tags to their proper owner and shed light on his fate, if he is no longer alive.
The two boys, both high school students, found the tags on a hike near the apple fields of Katzrin.
"We were walking and came upon an abandoned bunker and decided to investigate," Alex explained, adding that he and his friend were certain that no one had entered the bunker since it was abandoned.
"Inside we discovered old medical supplies and as well as several helmets and a jerry can. It seemed to be a medical clinic of sorts."
"Amidst the supplies we also found the tags, which were covered in mud. We brought them home and cleaned them, to discover that they had Arabic writing on them, which we didn’t understand."
Israeli military sources to whom the boys turned concluded that the tags must have been remnants from the June 1967 War.
"During the 1973 War there were no Syrian bunkers established in the southern part of the Golan," said the source in an interview with Haaretz. "It stands to reason, therefore, that the owner of the tag was possibly an injured solider who was treated in the bunker in 1967. Certainly his fate and these tags are of great importance to his family," he added.
Other details which the tags revealed were that the soldier was not an officer, that he was Muslim, and that his blood type was A+.
The two boys are interested in reaching the soldier or his family members so that they can give them back the tags, which could perhaps be the last remaining items of the fated solider and undoubtedly of personal importance to his family.
"We are very interested in knowing who that man is and to whom the tags belong, but it is also clear to us that we are not equipped with the tools to do so," said Drotzik.
"We hope that someone will be able to inform the soldier or his family members. It could be that we will be able to shed light on the fate of the soldier for his family."
The military source added that Syrian authorities may also be interested in the tags if the soldier is still considered "missing in action."
"Certainly Syrian authorities keep track of Israeli press, and thus we believe that advertising the finding is very important to do."
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
