Turkey provides medical treatment to 64 wounded Peshmerga

Sixty-four injured Peshmerga soldiers are to travel to Turkey to receive proper medical treatment, said a Peshmerga official on Friday.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Sixty-four injured Peshmerga soldiers are to travel to Turkey to receive proper medical treatment, said a Peshmerga official on Friday.

The General Director of Peshmerga for medical affairs Dr. Muhsin Zangana told Kurdistan24 that in cooperation with the Turkish government, Turkey would provide medical treatment to 64 wounded Peshmerga soldiers and will pay for the flights and the treatment.

According to Zangana, the Peshmerga soldiers will fly to Turkey on Friday evening. He mentioned that Peshmerga committee chose to send the injured abroad because the Kurdistan Region lacks the medical technologies these ailing fighters need.

A committee of Peshmerga for medical affairs is expected to accompany the wounded to Turkey to monitor their health condition as they will be received in six different hospitals.

Zanagana noted that Peshmerga Ministry has given IQD 1,200,000 (US $1,000) to each of those Peshmerga soldiers, and the Turkish government will cover the cost of their flight tickets and medical treatments.

The director also mentioned that the injuries of the Peshmerga soldiers vary. Some of the injuries are old while others are new and has different parts of their bodies including face and brain.

Kurdistan Region shares over 1,000 km (620 miles) border with the so-called Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq. Peshmerga is one of the most efficient ground troops in defeating the jihadist group and liberating large swaths of territory.

According to the latest data provided by the Peshmerga Ministry, since the emergence of the IS in June 2014, 1,540 Peshmerga soldiers have fallen and 9,067 have been wounded.

Previously, Zangana told Kurdistan24 that Peshmerga Ministry is in contact with the US-led coalition countries in the fight against IS to take some of the wounded Peshmerga soldiers abroad for proper medical treatment.

 

Editing by Ava Homa