King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has ordered that Iraqi conjoined twins – Zainab and Ruqayah – along with their parents, be transported from Najaf to Riyadh's King Abdulaziz Medical City of the National Guard to assess whether the twins can be separated. This was announced Tuesday by the Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah, who is also the leader of the Conjoined Twins' Surgical Team. He said this “humanitarian gesture” reflects the care of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Arabs and Muslims, said Dr. Al-Rabeah. The parents of the Iraqi twins thanked the King for his generous gesture. The two-week-old twins are joined at the hip and have problems with their digestive and reproductive systems. Salim Mohammed, spokesman for Najaf Health Authority, said that the family was waiting for passports to be issued to allow the girls to travel. “The conjoined twins are in good health and they are expected to leave for Saudi Arabia within the coming three days,” he said. The King Abdulaziz Medical City of the National Guard has performed nearly 30 successful surgeries for conjoined twins from 16 countries. Those included another set of Iraqi conjoined twins who were separated after 20 hours of surgery in 2006.
