Wounded Thai protest leader safe: Doctor

8220;The operation has been completed. It took around two hours and Sondhi is now safe,in a good condition and able to talk,8221; he said.

8220;The bullet shrapnel penetrated the outer skull and caused the broken skull to crush the outer membrane of the brain,but it did not penetrate into the brain itself,8221; he said.

Sondhi,founder of the 8220;Yellow Shirts8221; royalist movement that helped topple former premier Thaksin Shinawatra,was attacked by gunmen wielding automatic weapons who fired about 100 rounds at his car in a dawn attack,police said.

Parnthep Pourpongpan,a spokesman for Sondhi8217;s People8217;s Alliance for Democracy PAD,also confirmed that medical authorities had informed the movement that Sondhi was out of danger.

8220;We do not know who is responsible but we do know the attack was politically motivated. We will wait for the police investigation and follow the justice system,8221; he said.