Local family concerned for loved ones still in Iraq

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – When 22-year-old Sarmad Almukhtar was 10, his family fled Iraq, settling in Sterling Heights almost seven years later.

"We just remember good things about Iraq, but we cannot actually go there. It's so dangerous. You could just die at anytime, just like my cousin" Almukhtar said.

His cousin was killed by a terrorist bomb on April 28.

He is very concerned about his relatives that are still there and in harms way, saying that it is only going to get worse there as the Iraqi military does nothing.

But he is very thankful that he and his family are in Michigan. He works for a restaurant and is taking community college classes with hopes to become a dentist.

All members of the family have applied for U.S. citizenship and look forward to the day they become citizens.