CHICAGO, May 21 (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, fighting obesity, has checked into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a series of medical tests that could last for a few weeks, the clinic said on Monday. He arrived at the medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, on Sunday, the announcement said, "for a comprehensive examination, including a series of medical tests." It said the tests "are scheduled over the next few weeks" and no additional announcements were planned until the check-up is completed. Talabani, a former Kurdish guerrilla who is in his 70s, had announced earlier this month that he was going to the United States "to undergo general medical checks and to reduce my weight," according to his office in Iraq. While Talabani's position as president is largely ceremonial, he is one one of Iraq's most senior and influential politicians. He left from the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya in northeastern Iraq on Sunday. His office quoted him as saying at a news conference on May 15 that "I don't have any health problems except my obesity and I will treat it, God willing." In February, Talabani went to Jordan on a medically equipped U.S. military plane for treatment of extreme fatigue and dehydration.
