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US Army base gunman 'conscious' US Army base gunman 'conscious'
(30 minutes later)
A US Army major who killed 13 people when he opened fire at a military base has regained consciousness and is able to talk, officials have told the BBC. A US Army major suspected of shooting dead 13 people at military base has regained consciousness and is able to talk, officials have told the BBC.
Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old army psychiatrist, injured another 29 people at the Fort Hood base in Texas.Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old army psychiatrist, injured another 29 people at the Fort Hood base in Texas.
He was shot by police and had been in a coma in hospital since the attack. He was shot by police and had been in a coma in hospital following the attack.
Maj Hasan's motives for the shooting are unknown, but some reports said the US-born Muslim had been unhappy about being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Maj Hasan's motives for the shooting are unknown, but some reports said the US-born Muslim had been unhappy about being deployed to Afghanistan.
Maria Gallegos, a spokeswoman for the Brooke Army Medical Center, said Maj Hasan was in a critical but stable condition.Maria Gallegos, a spokeswoman for the Brooke Army Medical Center, said Maj Hasan was in a critical but stable condition.
However, she would not say what Maj Hasan had been talking to medical staff about, or what treatment he was receiving. However, she would not say what Maj Hasan had been talking to medical staff about, nor what treatment he was receiving.
A spokesman at the hospital, Dewey Mitchell, told the Associated Press news agency Maj Hasan had been able to speak since Saturday, when he was taken off a ventilator.
'Nightmare'
Witnesses to Thursday's attack said Maj Hasan opened fire on fellow soldiers at a processing centre for troops about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Senior US Senator Joe Lieberman has said he plans to open a congressional investigation into whether the shootings were a terrorist attack.
Mr Lieberman also said he hoped to determine whether the army missed signs that Maj Hasan may have harboured extreme views.
Maj Hasan was born in the US of Palestinian parents and has been described as a devout Muslim.
His cousin told US media last week that his imminent deployment was his "worst nightmare", and that he had been battling racial harassment because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity".
Fort Hood, near the town of Killeen, is the largest US base in the world and houses some 40,000 US troops.
Soldiers at Fort Hood are among those deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some will have returned from there. The base has a centre that deals with combat stress.