On the morning of Friday September 12, 1988, Ali was awakened by a loud voice from the street. Then, there was a loud knock on the door. Men from a certain militia stood there asking the family to leave the house and head to the street for safety purposes. Ali carried his three children and headed with his wife and the rest of the kids to the street. There, they were divided into two groups; men and children (above 13 years old) on one side and women and children (less than 13 years old) on another. His wife and the rest of his children were taken somewhere else. However, Ali, his son Hussein (20 years old), Walid (18 years old), Mohammad (13 years old) and Adnan were all kidnapped.