Angel of mercy returns to Iraq to aid the sick

ONCE bitten, twice as eager, an Irish doctor is heading for Iraq to prepare for the inevitable humanitarian crisis that will follow war.

But what makes Dr Mary McLoughlin’s expedition all the more remarkable is that she is returning despite narrowly escaping the bombardment that devastated the country and its people during the last Gulf War.

Dr McLoughlin was working in a Baghdad hospital at the time of the last threat of war on Iraq and was initially held hostage along with other Western workers as the deadline for military action approached.