Afghanistan's top opposition commander Ahmad Shah Masood is alive and recovering in hospital, his brother insisted here Tuesday, refuting persistent reports of Masood's death after an assassination attempt.
"He is recovering. He is in a stable situation. Thank God that he survived the whole conspiracy," said Ahmad Wali Masood, who is the ambassador in London of the Afghan government-in-exile.
"He is in a much better condition at the moment, he is absolutely fine," he told AFP, saying he had just spoken to doctors and relatives at his brother's bedside.
"Soon he will be able to talk. He is conscious.
"He has been able to indicate with his fingers what he wants."
He refused to say where the military chief, who leads the loose opposition alliance fighting the Taliban militia which rules most of Afghanistan, was now recovering.
However, he said he had undergone an operation for his injuries which were on the right leg, his fingers and a burnt area under his eyes.
The attack on Masood was carried out by two Arab suicide bombers posing as journalists at his base in northeastern Afghanistan.
Reports from Washington and Moscow have said that Masood is dead, but that has been furiously denied by the opposition sources.
Reiterating the denials, the ambassador insisted: "The most important thing is that he is my brother -- I am much more concerned about his condition than any diplomat." -- LONDON (AFP)
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