101 wounded Peshmerga to receive medical treatment abroad

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Peshmerga Ministry will send 101 injured Peshmerga soldiers abroad to receive proper medical treatments, said an official from Peshmerga Ministry on Thursday.

The Director of the Peshmerga Ministry’s Health Affairs Major General Muhsin Rashid told Kurdistan24 that the ministry is preparing the documents of 101 Peshmerga soldiers, who have been wounded in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) to be sent abroad for treatment.

“Peshmerga Ministry and KRG Foreign Relations Department are in cooperation to finalize the documents of the wounded Peshmerga,” Rashid said.

According to him, some of the US-led coalition countries have expressed readiness to take in some of the wounded Peshmerga to their hospitals, and the Ministry is in contact with other countries for taking the remaining Peshmerga soldiers.

“Hungary has decided to take 12 injured Peshmerga,” Rashid continued. “KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations is also in contact with Turkey and some other countries.”

Mohamad Ali is a Peshmerga soldier who was wounded at the beginning of IS war in late 2014. The Ministry once sent him to Turkey to receive medical treatments for his leg, and now he will be sent to the same country to receive care for his other leg.

“My legs were injured when an IED detonated. I stayed in Turkey for 15 days for the surgery. One of my legs was broken, and doctors put platinum in it for me,” Ali stated.

Regarding his other leg he said, “Doctors told me that inside is all injured. They provided me preliminary treatments and asked to come back after few weeks.”

So far, Peshmerga Ministry has sent 660 Peshmerga soldiers to foreign countries for proper medical treatments. The cost was mainly on the KRG and some of the coalition countries who volunteered.

Peshmerga is known as one of the most efficient ground forces in defeating IS. They have liberated large swaths of territory from the jihadists group since June 2014.

Editing by Ava Homa