07 February 2013

KIRKUK: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's health continues to improve and will return home fine, Kirkuk governor said.

Nejm el-Din Karim said in a press release that he is in continue contact with the medical team supervising President Talabani's health, and they underlined that his health continues to improve.

The 79-year-old Talabani suffered a stroke six weeks ago.

Talabani fell ill at a time of escalating confrontations between al-Maliki's government and the country's large Kurdish and Sunni minorities.

The government and the Kurds, who have autonomy in northern Iraq, have traded threats and dispatched troops in recent weeks in their dispute over oil contracts and contested oil-rich areas.

© Aswat Aliraq 2013