An image taken from a videograb shows kidnappers dragging the child towards their car.

Mahmoud Ads, Staff Reporter

Egyptian security forces rescued a child, who was kidnapped in front of his mother, within hours and returned him to his family safely.

The kidnapping incident took place in in Al Mahallah city of Al Gharbia Governorate of Egypt.

The whole incident was recorded on CCTV cameras and the footage went viral on the social networks.

The video showed two masked people stopping their car in front of a shop and kidnapping the child, fleeing the place in seconds.

The child’s mother, who was inside the shop, rushed out to rescue her son but could not.

It was later revealed that the kidnapped child was Zeyad Al Behairi, 10.

Once the footage went viral, enraged social media users demanded the security forces  quickly arrest the kidnappers, rescue the child and unite him with his family.

The Ministry of Interior said in a statement early on Tuesday that the arrest of the perpetrators and the recovery of the kidnapped child was carried out with modern technologies that helped track the perpetrators, and examine all the circumstances behind the incident.

“The quick uncovering of the incident’s circumstances and the arrest of the perpetrators is a decisive message that the Egyptian police are able to deter anyone who seeks to undermine the security and tranquillity of citizens,” the Ministry of Interior added.

As the news of the child's safe recovery spread in the city of Al Mahalla, hundreds of joyous citizens along with the family of Zeyad gathered to welcome him.

Egyptian media revealed that 30 officers participated in tracking the movements of the kidnappers through more than 47 surveillance cameras.

So far, the authorities have not announced the motive behind this crime.

Later in the day Egyptian media reported that the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had sent a gift of two calves and a laptop to the family of the child (Zeyad Ahmed Al-Behairy), after the security forces had succeeded in freeing him from the kidnappers at dawn on Tuesday.

The child's family slaughtered the two calves and distributed their meat to the people in the village to celebrate his safe return.