In a dramatic turn of events, seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli, who was shot thrice by unidentified gunmen along with her family who were massacred in French Alps last week, has regained consciousness from coma yesterday, triggering hope in French detectives that the orphaned girl could help them nail the criminals.

Zainab al-Haili arose from coma amidst tight security, with maternal aunt and uncle at her side, at Grenoble University Hospital in eastern France. Zainab suffered serious injuries after she was shot in the shoulder and was brutally beaten around the head, which left her with skull fractures.

Zainab’s sister four-year-old sister Zeena, who hid between the dead bodies of her family, survived the horror, is also under medical supervision.

Zeena had shielded herself in the rear footwell of the car when the shooting began. The terrified child took refuge under her dead mother’s legs for eight hours until the police discovered her, as they had sealed off the crime scene assuming that there was nobody alive in the car.

Zeena has been attended to by a nurse, a child psychologist and has had uninterrupted care from a British embassy team. French investigators over the past few days, have been gently inquiring about the incident with her, but she has been unable to tell them anything until now apart from hearing “noises and cries.”

Meanwhile, more details of a suspected family feud between Saad al-Haili and his brother Zaid, 53, over a multi-million pound inheritance, emerged. A family friend said that Saad had written a letter to his mother last August after the death of his father Kadhim, complaining Zaid was a “control freak” and “underhand.” Zaid has denied being at loggerheads over an inheritance with his brother.

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French Alps Massacre: Holiday at St Joriuz turned dreadful for Saad-Al-Hilli
French Alps murders: Miraculous escape for four-year-old girl