Salman Rushdie attack results in loss of eyesight in 1 eye, use of 1 hand: report

The serious injuries are a result of the August attack on the writer, 75, just before he was set to deliver a lecture in New York.

Literary agent Andrew Wylie on Saturday told the Spanish outlet El Pais that Rushdie suffered "serious wounds" to his neck, chest, and torso as well.

"[His wounds] were profound, but he's [also] lost the sight of one eye... He had three serious wounds in his neck. One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso. So, it was a brutal attack," Wylie said.

While declining to reveal Rushdie's whereabouts, Wylie said "He's going to live... That's the important thing."

Rushdie, who is known for his book The Satanic Verses, which was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, is criticized as "blasphemous" by Islamic extremists. The release of the book prompted mass protests and violence, as well as bans and book-burnings.

In February 1989, after a violent riot against the book took place in Pakistan, then-Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or Islamic edict, on the author, calling for his death. A $3 million bounty was then placed on his head by an Iranian foundation, reported BBC.

Rusdhie was brutally stabbed on stage at New York's Chautauqua Institution on Aug. 12 of this year.

Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, has been incarcerated after pleading not guilty to attempted murder and assault, reports HuffPost.

Three days following the attack, the nation of Iran denied involvement, but still justified it.

"Regarding the attack against Salman Rushdie in America, we don't consider anyone deserving reproach, blame or even condemnation, except for [Rushdie] himself and his supporters," Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry said.

"In this regard, no one can blame the Islamic Republic of Iran," he added. "We believe that the insults made and the support he received was an insult against followers of all religions."