CT State Senator back in New England after being stuck in Middle East amid airstrikes

State Senator Saud Anwar says he's back in the United States after days of trying to get home from Iraq after airstrikes in Iran.

Anwar (D-South Windsor) said he traveled to Iraq after the state’s legislative session ended, to learn more about the part of the world and how policies are impacting their people.

Then he received a message from the U.S. Consulate that they needed to leave, but all air travel in Iraq was suspended 30 minutes before Anwar's family was supposed to board the flight after Israel launched airstrikes against Iran.

On Friday evening, Anwar said he reached Kuwait Airport after nearly 12 hours of travel. He says that time involved one driver taking frequent smoke breaks which was challenging for him as a lung doctor.

“He actually every hour he would stop and leave us in the car at 118 degrees temperature, it was boiling. And you would go out and smoke and you're just like, okay, we die of smoke inhalation, or we die of heat,” he said.

By Saturday night, the state senator says he has landed at Logan Airport in Boston.

In the social media post, Sen. Anwar says he has landed on U.S. soil and is "blessed to be back home."

In Iraq, Senator Anwar visited areas such as Najaf and Karbala in the central part of the country on a trip that he paid for himself…speaking with the locals there.

“People have rebuilt the country and they've done a very good job in building up the infrastructure and they're doing it on their own,” he said.

He says even as a state lawmaker, seeing in-person the impact our country has on the ground internationally was an important perspective to get.

“We need to realize that our policies that we are involved in directly and indirectly, at the end of those policies, there are some good things happening, and there's some not so good things that are happening,” Sen. Anwar said.

The senator says his impression after the trip is that when it comes to the power the United States has, it has a great responsibility that comes with it.

“It can be done in a very fine, respectful manner, and we can get far more prosperity through peace,” he said.