Bangladeshi dies after Iranian missile strike in Saudi Arabia; death toll rises to 5

Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, 35, a Bangladeshi worker, has died from injuries suffered in an Iranian missile strike in Saudi Arabia, raising the number of Bangladeshi deaths linked to US-Israel war on Iran in the Middle East to five.

The Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry confirmed Mamun’s death in a statement, saying he “suffered severe burn injuries when a missile fired from Iran hit Saudi Arabia’s Al Kharj area on March 8.” He was injured at a workers’ camp of Al Towaiq Baladia Company in Al Kharj shortly before iftar. With around 90 percent of his body burned, he had been undergoing treatment in Riyadh and died at 11:00pm on Tuesday.

Mamun was from Rasulpur village in Gafargaon upazila of Mymensingh. The ministry added that Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, State Minister Md Nurul Haque, and Senior Secretary Dr Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan expressed deep shock at Mamun’s death, prayed for his eternal peace, and conveyed condolences to his family.

“Officials of the Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh and the labour welfare wing have been providing round-the-clock support,” Ariful Haque said. The ministry also confirmed that the family will receive financial assistance according to government rules.

Mamun’s cousin, Shawon Morol, said he was the father of a son and that his death had cast a pall of grief over both the family and the village, urging authorities to bring the body back to Bangladesh quickly.

Earlier on March 8, two other Bangladeshis -- Bacchu Miah of Katiadi, Kishorganj, and Mosharraf Hossain of Shakhipur, Tangail -- were killed in the Al Kharj aerial attack, with several others injured, including Mamun. Another Bangladeshi, Ahmed Ali (also known as Saleh Ahmed), died in the UAE on February 28, and SM Tareq died in Bahrain’s Salman Industrial Area on March 2, bringing the total death toll of Bangladeshi migrant workers in the region to five.