Salman Rushdie stabbed, condition unknown

Author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck in an attack he was subjected to on Friday as he was about to give a lecture in New York, United States.

An Associated Press reporter witnessed a man confront Rushdie on stage at the Chautauqua Institution and punch or stab him 10 to 15 times as he was being introduced.

Another witness told CNN that Rushdie was being introduced at about 10:45 AM local time when the assault happened, and a man in a black shirt appeared to be "punching" the author.

CNN also cited a witness who told that there were no security searches or metal detectors at the event. The witness said the attacker "walked quickly" down an aisle and jumped on stage, approaching the author and "making a stabbing motion with his hand repeatedly."

Rushdie was airlifted to a local hospital and his condition is yet unknown, CNN reported around 5 PM GMT.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters that Rushdie is "alive" and "getting the care he needs."

Rushdie: Targeted for 34 years because of "The Satanic Verses"

The 75-year-old novelist, the son of a successful Muslim businessman in India, was educated in England, first at Rugby School and later at the University of Cambridge where he received an MA degree in history.

Upon the publication of his fourth novel "The Satanic Verses" in 1988, the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini called Rushdie a blasphemer and said the novel was an insult on Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, and issued a religious decree, calling for his death.

The Iranian government announced it would no longer seek to enforce the decree in 1998.