THIS is the shocking moment an ex-boxer disarmed a suspected terrorist after he took a terrified woman hostage in an airport siege.
Musa Abdraim, 52, volunteered to replace the female airport security officer as hostage, before grabbing the weapon and wrestling him to the ground.
The distressing footage shows the knife wielding passenger, clutching Botagoz Mukhtarova by the hair in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The 21-year-old can be heard screaming as the feared terrorist waves the knife close to her head and threatens to “blow everything up.”
The 67-year-old attacker suddenly revealed a knife as he was asked to show his identity documents before going through security.
The father of five, Abdraim, bravely volunteered to replace the distressed woman as a hostage, and the knifeman allowed this.
Abdraim said: “The attacker had a knife and a phone.
“He told the policemen he would press a button on the phone, and everything would blow up.”
The ex-boxer waited for his moment and grabbed the knife before trying to overpower the attacker.
Police then rushed to his aid and pinned the struggling man to the ground.
Abdraim said: “I came to the airport to see off my relatives.
“Suddenly I heard a girl scream and immediately ran there.
“I saw that he was going to stab her. I told him: ‘Take me hostage instead of her.’
“He let go of the girl and grabbed me. I was really afraid he would stab her.”
Initially, Abdraim tried reasoning with the man.
But he said his instinct was to grab the knife.
Abdraim said: “In the past I was involved in sports – boxing, martial arts, Thai boxing, kickboxing.
“But that was a long time ago.”
Abdraim is being commended for his courageous deeds, which have led Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to announce that he will receive a state medal for his bravery.
A criminal case has been opened against the suspect which could see him jailed for up to 12 years.
The police department released a statement confirming that at Almaty airport, a man was apprehended for assaulting an inspector by seizing her hair and brandishing a kitchen knife, immediately upon entering the inspection zone.
“Police officers, with the help of airport security and the hero citizen, disarmed the offender and took him to the police room.
“It was established that he was a 67-year-old resident of Almaty.
“A criminal case has been opened on this fact. An investigation is underway.”
