Iranian Doctors in Iraq’s Kirkuk to Help Chemical Attack Victims
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi said a number of Iranian physicians have been dispatched to neighboring Iraq to provide medical aid for the Iraqis injured in a recent chemical attack by the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.
Back on Tuesday, Daesh militants fired mortar shells and Katyusha rockets filled with “poisonous substances” into the village of Taza, located some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Kirkuk. The raid was carried out from the nearby militant-held Bashir area.
On Wednesday night, Iraq’s Health Minister Adeelah Humood contacted his Iranian counterpart, who was on a visit to southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, and asked for Iran’s immediate help.
Based on its humanitarian duty, the Iranian health ministry made the required arrangements and sent a medical team to Kirkuk immediately after the Iraqi health minister’s phone call, Qazizadeh Hashemi noted.
In coordination with the Iranian foreign ministry, a team of specialists headed by Dr. Mostafa Ghanei, Iran’s Pasteur Institute (IPI) Directorate, were dispatched within a few hours after the attack to help the wounded, particularly the children, he went on to say.
The health ministry is closely following up on the measures taken so far, and provides the required facilities and drugs based on the medical team’s needs, Qazizadeh Hashemi said, based on a report by the ministry.
Taza mayor Hussein Abbas said the town was struck by some 45 rockets over a period of three hours.
According to several local officials, chlorine was used in the Daesh raid. However, samples are still being analyzed to determine the exact substance used in the Daesh attack.
“The gas was a light silver color and sometimes left some liquid where it landed,” a senior security official said on condition of anonymity.
Burhan Abdallah, who heads the Kirkuk health directorate, also said 200 people had been treated since the raid.
“Only 17 are still in care. One of them is a child in serious condition. They suffer from respiratory problems, burns and rashes,” Abdallah added.
Daesh has reportedly been trying to produce chemical weapons and is believed to have formed a special unit for chemical weapons research.
The Takfiri terrorists launched an offensive in Iraq in June 2014 and took control of swathes of the Iraqi territory.
Iraqi army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units are seeking to win back militant-held regions in joint operations.
