Report: Talabani falls ill, flies to Jordan for treatment

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) - Iraq's 74-year-old President Jalal Talabani was flown out of his Kurdish home city towards Jordan on Sunday after falling ill with what an ally said was a kidney problem.

A Jordanian official told AFP that the kingdom stood ready to receive the veteran leader, a barrel-chested former rebel fighter who became a symbol of Iraq's difficult battle to escape sectarian bloodshed.

"Because of the continual hard work over the course of recent days, President Talabani has fallen ill. The doctors have asked for more tests and he has gone to Jordan," a statement on the president's website said.

"There is no reason to fear for his health, and we hope he will return in good health," the statement said.

Iraq's ambassador to Jordan Saad al-Hayani said: "He has not arrived yet, and we are making contacts with the royal court to see in which hospital he will be admitted."

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