ISIS fighters in Iraq 'have contracted Ebola': World Health Organisation

02 January 2015 - 17:01 By Times LIVE
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The Ebola virus is seen in this file photo
The Ebola virus is seen in this file photo
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is investigating reports that ISIS militants have been showing up at an Iraqi hospital with symptoms of the Ebola virus.

According to three media outlets an undisclosed number of militants displaying signs of the disease attended a hospital in the ISIS-held city of Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad, the Daily Mail reports.

While the reports, from Kurdish and pro-Iraqi sources, remain unconfirmed, WHO spokesman Christy Feig said the group are trying to reach out to officials in ISIS-held areas to offer help.

Feig said: “We have no official notification from [the Iraqi government] that it is Ebola.”

“UN workers are currently banned from entering ISIS-controlled areas in both Iraq and Syria so it is unlikely an operation in the region could be carried out,” according to the report.

According to a report in Iraq's pro-government newspaper, al Sabaah, the disease was brought to Mosul by 'terrorists' arriving 'from several countries' and Africa.

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