RIYADH: A specialized team of surgeons has started a surgery to separate Iraqi conjoined twins, ‘Ali and Omer,’ in Riyadh on Thursday morning, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The surgery will see 27 doctors, specialists and nursing staff attempt to separate the twins from the lower chest and abdomen across six surgical phases that is expected to take 11 hours. It is being performed at King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital. “According to pre-surgical examinations, [the twins] share the liver, bile ducts and intestines,” said Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah, Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), who is heading the surgical team. He added that Thursday’s surgery was the 54th operation conducted under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme, which involved over 127 twins from 23 countries.