Health ministry official Mussa al-Juwaiser told the state KUNA news agency the Kuwaiti team comprised surgeons, gynecologists and obstetricians.

A Kuwaiti woman doctor is also among them, to help treat Iraqi women, Juwaiser said.

A health centre in Umm Qasr is currently being run by Kuwaiti doctors working alongside Iraqi doctors, he added.

On Friday, Kuwait sent a plane with five tons of medical aid to Iraqis threatened by a humanitarian catastrophe.

The emirate had previously dispatched several convoys carrying essential goods by land to Iraq.

Aid organizations have warned Iraq was facing a humanitarian disaster amid widespread looting and anarchy.

SPACE.WIRE