Dad Loses 9-Month-Old Twins In Syrian Chemical Attack

A heartbreaking image of Abdel Hameed al-Youssef sitting in a car, cradling his 9-month-old twins is making headlines all over the world.

Their lifeless faces are shown as victims of a chemical attack in Syria on Tuesday which took the lives at least 72 civilians. At least 20 of those victims were children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“I was right beside them. I took them outside with their mother,” al-Youssef, 29, told The Associated Press. “They were conscious, but 10 minutes later, we could smell [the gas], and my children couldn’t handle it anymore. I left them to the medics and went to find my family.”

He said that he lost other family members in the horrific attack, which was just 1 in a series of chemical attacks in Syria.

“My brother Yasser is dead. I couldn’t save him. So is my brother Abdel Kareem. My nephew Yasser Mohammad, I couldn’t save. Ammar my nephew, I couldn’t save. Shaimaa my niece, I couldn’t save. My sister-in-law, they all died. Two of our workers, 11 of another family died in their own land. Khaled and his wife, Abounajib, his wife, and his daughter,” al-Youssef told the AP.

This is not the only family suffering.According to news reports, an entire family was found dead in a shelter, killed by the gas.