A Christian former special forces operative who now works as an aid worker was recently caught on camera saving ayoung girl from Islamic State gunfire in Mosul, Iraq.
The act of bravery came from David Eubank, 56, the founder of the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a group dedicated to helping pro-Democracy organisations in conflict zones such as Burma or Iraq.
Eubank, who is also a husband and father of three, joined the special forces team when he was 18, but after 10 years decided that he needed 'the freedom to go where God was leading' according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Times reported that when a Burmese Bible group asked Eubank's missionary parents for help, they turned to their son. 'The Burmese said they were a warrior people, and they needed someone like that. My parents called me up and asked what I thought,' Eubank said. 'I figured I could go and even if I helped only one person, at least they would be happy and I would be happy.'
In due course, Eubank and his wife Karen moved to Burma full time where he founded FBR, which over the last two years has focused its efforts on assisting those who are affected by Islamic State, deploying with Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Mosul, and delivering aid in places ravaged by jihadis such as Syria and Iraq.
'This is one of the starkest and most desperate situations in the world. And with ISIS, it doesn't feel melodramatic to say it's evil,' said Hosanna Valentine of FBR.
The efforts of Eubank and FBR in Iraq saving the young girl were captured on video, which begins with Eubank and two unidentified Iraqi military members taking cover behind a tank as close gunfire can be heard.
In the disturbing footage, Eubank then leans out to survey the scene, and quickly runs out into an area littered with corpses. Against the backdrop of cover gunfire, Eubank snatches up a 5-year-old girl and quickly returns with the child under his right arm.
Content warning: this footage is disturbing
'I thought, "If I die doing this, my wife and kids would understand",' said Eubank.
Eubank says that the work that he does is driven by his Christian faith. On the FBR website, Eubank quotes Luke 4:18, which reads: 'He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'
He added: 'I believe God sent me here, and I don't think about security ... but I always ask myself if I'm doing it out of pride.'
