Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Thursday headed to Germany for medical treatment after he reportedly suffered a stroke earlier in the week, dpa quoted his office as reporting. Talabani left the Medicine City Hospital in Baghdad after his health improved, the president's office said in a statement. Unconfirmed media reports said Tuesday that the 79-year-old leader had slipped into a coma following a stroke. Talabani, a Kurd, has played a key role in mediating between the federal government in Baghdad and the northern autonomous Kurdish region over disputed areas. In 2005, Talabani, who spent several years in exile during the rule of Saddam Hussein, became the country's first president after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. He has been hospitalized abroad several times in recent years.
