Zainab was separated from her sister Ruqiya on July 16 in an operation carried out at the orders of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Ruqiya died three weeks later. The surgery was undertaken by a team led by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.

Born on June 5 in Najaf, the twins, who were joined at the hips and the heads, were brought to Riyadh on June 25 under Saudi Arabia’s ongoing humanitarian policy of performing conjoined-twin separation surgeries at no cost to the parents. The twins underwent emergency separation surgery on July 16 after a series of clinical tests conducted by the paramedical team headed by Al-Rabeeah revealed that their condition was critical.

Al-Rabeeah said Ruqiya suffered from a deformity on her head that made breathing difficult. The minister explained that the death was not due to any surgical complications. “It (the death) was solely due to Ruqiya’s unstable condition,” said Al-Rabeeah.