Afghan Hero Of 'Lone Survivor' Now Fears For His Life

Afghan Hero Of 'Lone Survivor' Now In Danger

WASHINGTON -- An Afghan man who saved the life of a U.S. Navy Seal and was featured in a blockbuster film that grossed millions of dollars says that he now fears for his life and that the Seal's promise to help him move to America has gone unfulfilled, Vocativ is reporting.

In 2005, Mohammad Gulab found Marcus Luttrell badly wounded and alone in the woods in Afghanistan after the Seal survived an ambush from the Taliban. Gulab gave refuge to Luttrell and took him into his home because of a tribal code of honor which mandates giving help to anyone who needs it. Luttrell survived, and eventually wrote a book called Lone Survivor that chronicled his experience, which was eventually turned into a film starring Mark Wahlberg.

Gulab, who does not speak English, attended the premiere of the film in New York City last year, and appeared with Luttrell in a 60 Minutes report that highlighted how the two men had grown close since the ordeal.

"The five days that we were together, it shot us 20 to 30 years into the future after everything we've been through together, " Luttrell told 60 Minutes. "He very well could have left me lying there on the side of that waterfall and let me die. But he didn't."

"I love you," Luttrell told Gulab on 60 Minutes.

But now Gulab, who still lives in Afghanistan despite attempts to move to the United States, tells Voactiv that his life is "is in worse danger than ever."

The Taliban are still determined to kill him, Gulab says, and he and his family have been targeted in both shootings and bombings. Gulab says that he sleeps away from home because he thinks that will make it less likely that the Taliban will target his family.

Luttrell advised Gulab to seek asylum in the United States, but Gulab declined to do so, thinking that doing so would mean that he couldn't return to Afghanistan to be with his family. Gulab wanted to get a green card and says that Luttrell promised him that he would help him move to the country. In January, Gulab flew to Texas, where he wanted to meet with Luttrell and find work until he could obtain a green card. But the morning after he arrived, two members of Luttrell's family came to his hotel, took him shopping, and then took him to the airport, Voactiv reported.

A representative from the Luttrell family told Vocativ that Gulab left the country voluntarily and that there had been a misunderstanding between the two men.

Watch the film's trailer below:

Before You Go

Start of War: Oct. 7, 2001

Afghanistan War, By The Numbers

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot