Medical teams in Iraq to help treat Talabani

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani talks to reporters in Baghdad, in this Aug. 17, 2007, file photo.
Iraq's President Jalal Talabani talks to reporters in Baghdad, in this Aug. 17, 2007, file photo.

— Foreign medical experts rushed to Baghdad on Wednesday to assist Iraqi doctors treating ailing President Jalal Talabani, whose condition is said to be improving after he suffered a stroke.

Talabani, a member of Iraq’s Kurdish minority, was taken to the hospital late Monday and doctors worked to stabilize him into the following day. His illness raises new concerns about Iraq’s stability, which is being tested anew by a recent spike in tensions between the central government and the Kurds.

Talabani’s doctors have not formally said that the 79-year-old statesman suffered a stroke, though several other government officials have confirmed that is the case.

Deputy Health Minister Issam Namiq said medical teams from Iran and Germany had arrived to assist with the treatment, and that additional experts from Britain are on their way.

He told reporters the president is getting better, though he offered no details about the severity of the illness.

“His condition is stable. And I underline here that there is an improvement in his condition compared with yesterday,” he said.

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