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A Belarusian man grabbed and threw an Afghan child on the floor at Moscow International Airport, severely injuring him.
Russian media reported that the 31-year-old attacker, Vladimir Vitkov, may be of Jewish origin and may have committed the crime out of hate due to the recent conflict between Iran and Israel as the Afghan family travelled from Iran to Moscow..
Social media users reacted strongly to the horrific incident. Claims about the attacker's origin sparked heavy criticism and fury among Muslim users on X.
Israeli forces have killed 16,802 Palestinian students and injured more than 26,000 in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since Israel launched its genocidal war on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Iranian Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said Tehran immediately contacted Russian authorities to confirm the victim’s nationality.
“It was initially reported that the child was Iranian,” Jalali said. “Russian Foreign Ministry colleagues told us that the file is officially listed under Afghanistan. The innocent child, currently in a coma, is apparently from an Afghan family.”
Iran's ambassador stated that it is suspected that the attacker is of Jewish origin, but they could not verify such claims so far. The boy and his pregnant mother had come to Russia to escape the Israel-induced war on Iran. The boy was not around his mother at the time of the incident, local outlets reported.
The video shows the man sneaking up close to the boy at the airport. He suddenly grabs the boy and slams him head-first onto the concrete floor, seriously injuring him.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Vladimir Vitkov of Belarus, has been arrested. The video shows him being escorted out by Russian police.
After the incident, investigators revealed that the accused had cannabis in his bloodstream. They also found additional drugs in his system.
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