CAIRO: An Egyptian woman whose act of kindness towards an army conscript drew nationwide praise was honored Sunday by the defense minister.
Safia Abou El-Azm stepped in to buy a ticket for a young soldier who was being berated by a train conductor and was about to be thrown off half way through his journey.
The confrontation and her gesture was caught on video and captured the hearts of Egyptians.
The footage, which went viral, showed El-Azm defend the young conscript when he stood up to leave following the altercation with the conductor and his supervisor.
The soldier, Abdullah Mohammed Antar, was verbally humiliated by the officials before leaving his seat.
El-Azm told him she had “three sons like him” as she paid for his ticket.
The conscript was seen counting whatever money he had to pay her back, but she refused.
At a ceremony held for retired army officers, Mohamed Zaki, the defence minister, honored El-Azm, who has come to be known as “the train lady.”
Military officials thanked her for helping the young conscript, and described her as symbol for “the goodness within Egyptian women.”
She also appeared on many TV talk shows over the weekend to explain her actions.
Meanwhile, the soldier was also honored in Sunday’s event for his discipline during the train incident.
Egypt’s top brass honor woman who paid poor conscript’s ticket
https://arab.news/9rj2x
Egypt’s top brass honor woman who paid poor conscript’s ticket
US launches new retaliatory strikes against Daesh in Syria after deadly ambush
- CENTCOM said operation ordered by President Donald Trump
- Launched in response to the deadly Dec. 13 Daesh attack in Palmyra
WASHINGTON: The US has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Daesh in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.
The large-scale strikes, conducted by the US alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to US Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Daesh targets across Syria.
Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly Daesh attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.
“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” US Central Command said in a statement Saturday.
A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military leader of Daesh’s operations in the Levant.
The US military said Saturday’s strikes were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part.
The Trump administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.
It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had Daesh infrastructure and weapons.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has for years been the US’s main partner in the fight against Daesh in Syria, but since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington has increasingly been coordinating with the central government in Damascus.
Syria recently joined the global coalition against Daesh.
