The founder of Thailand's 'yellow shirt' protest movement was shot and wounded in Bangkok early this morning.
Sondhi Limthongkul received a head injury but survived when gunmen targeted his car at a petrol station.
The ambush came hours before the government extended a state of emergency in the capital.
The director of Vajira hospital said some bullet fragments and bits of skull bone had been removed from Mr Sondhi in a successful operation.
'He is safe now and able to talk,' said Dr Chaiwan Chareonchoktawee.
A driver and bodyguard were also wounded.
Bangkok Metropolitan Police Commissioner Vorapong Chiewpreecha said that 84 spent cartridges were found.
'We also found an M-79 rocket propelled grenade that was fired but missed Mr Sondhi's vehicle. It hit an empty public bus parked nearby but it did not go off,' he said.
Authorities have extended the three-day Thai new year holiday until the end of the week to help restore law and order.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has also announced an indefinite extension to a state of emergency that covers the capital and its surrounds.
Mr Sondhi's yellow-shirted PAD supporters have not been part of the latest political violence in Thailand, which involved the supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The yellow shirt movement was behind the week-long occupation of Bangkok's main airports last year.
Mr Sondhi founded the PAD in 2005 after falling out with Mr Thaksin, who used to be a business associate.
