Savior Of ‘Lone Survivor’ Navy Seal Marked For Death By Taliban

Mohammad Gulab helped save the life of Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell in 2005, but now his act of compassion has made him a marked man, earning him a death sentence from Taliban fighters.

According to a report by Voactiv, Gulab claims that promises Luttrell and his family made to help the Afghan man emigrate to the United States went unfulfilled, and he now fears for his life as Taliban fighters have tried several times to kill him. Gulab’s association with Luttrell began in 2005 when he found the Navy Seal wounded and alone in the woods of Afghanistan following a Taliban ambush. Luttrell had been shot twice, suffered a broken back, and had shrapnel wounds in both legs. Motivated by a tribal code of honor which mandates giving help to any who require it, Gulab took the Seal in and protected him from the Taliban, who alternated between attempting to bribe Gulab and threatening the lives of his fellow villagers.

Luttrell survived his ordeal, largely because of the efforts of Gulab and his fellow villagers. The Navy Seal went on to write a book about his experience, Lone Survivor, which was adapted into a movie starring Mark Wahlberg, as The Inquisitr previously reported. Gulab found himself in the United States for the film’s premiere, along with a 60 Minutes interview that profiled how close he and Luttrell had become, according to The Huffington Post. Following a muddled exit from the country, however, Gulab has returned to Afghanistan, where the Taliban have attempted to take his life on several occasions.

Luttrell advised Gulab to seek asylum, but the Afghan man chose not to, not understanding the process and believing he would not be able to return to his family. Gulab says that the Seal promised to help him get a green card and move to the country. He flew to Texas with his interpreter in January, wanting to meet Luttrell after having been unable to reach him during promotion for the movie. According to Voactiv, however, two members of the Seal’s family met Gulab after he arrived, and took him to the airport, where he flew back to Afghanistan. A representative for Luttrell’s family claims that there was a misunderstanding between the two men, and that Gulab left the country voluntarily.

His profile raised by the release of the movie, Gulab has found himself on the receiving end of threats from the Taliban. The Taliban’s district commander, Mullah Nasrullah, told his deputies to just “send a suicide bomber and hit him,” according to callers who repeatedly threaten Gulab’s life. On April 5, an IED detonated near where he was walking, and on April 14, Taliban militants bombed his family’s home, injuring his daughter. On June 16, Gulab narrowly escaped with his life when a Taliban sniper’s bullet injured a cousin who was walking next to him.

Gulab is financially unable to move his family to the United States or even Kabul, where they would be less likely to suffer reprisals from the Taliban. He has reached out to Luttrell, but is saddened and angry that he has been met with silence. He says he does not regret saving the Navy Seal from the Taliban though. When Nasrullah called to berate him in person, Gulab told the Taliban commander that “the man I saved was a human being. The question of honor has nothing to do with his religion. It’s about humanity and self-respect.”

[Images via Voactiv]