Iraq's Ali set for London

The Iraqi boy who lost both arms in a bombing raid on Baghdad is travelling to London to have artificial limbs fitted.

Ali Ismaeel Abbas, 13, will be treated at the British Limbless Association's London clinic after the charity raised £270,000 to pay for treatment.

Ali's plight touched the world after coalition bombing raids destroyed his home and killed 16 members of his family, including his father and pregnant mother.

He suffered thirddegree burns on 60 per cent of his body.

His injuries were so serious that when Ali was flown out of Baghdad in April doctors gave him only a 50-50 chance of surviving. But after three months of plastic surgery in Kuwait paid for by the country's government, Ali is now ready for the next stage of treatment.

He is expected to arrive in the UK within 10 days and will be treated at the British Limbless Association clinic in Roehampton. Ali will be accompanied by another teenage bomb victim, Ahmad Hamza.