Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s political party says the Kurdish political leader will return to Iraq on July 19 after more than 18 months of medical treatment in Germany.
Talabani plans to return to his hometown of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region. Reports from the region express doubts about his fitness to return to political activity.
Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said on July 18 that he had undergone "successful health treatment" after suffering a stroke in December 2012 and traveling to Germany for treatment that same month.
His return to Iraq comes amid a deep crisis and sectarian divisions.
Sunni-led insurgents have seized territory across western and northern Iraq.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters control disputed land in northern Iraq outside of the Kurdish autonomous region.
Shi’ite militia fighters are bolstering the government forces of Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
With reporting by AFP
