Bosnian war victim Iljo Mikic today offered up a prayer of thanks to his 'guardian angels' as he recovers from vital surgery to his shattered hand.

The 20-year-old should soon be able to regain the use of his hand after good samaritans in Oxfordshire pulled out all the stops to help him.

Roy and Eve Hoare, of Church Close, Merton, near Bicester, began a crusade last September to bring him and another injured man over to the UK for surgery.

Ivica Mikic, 21, were injured when a mortar exploded while they were playing basketball.

Ivica was too badly hurt for any operation to work, but doctors said Iljo could benefit from surgery to mend nerve endings in his arm.

The couple found out about the men through working with the Outlook Children's Fund - which raises funds for children's activities - and set about raising money for them. But when the private Acland Hospital in Oxford heard about Iljo's plight, surgeon Henk Giele performed the intricate operation for nothing.

Iljo, who speaks no English, came to the UK last week and underwent surgery on Monday.

His hand is completely encompassed in bandages now but it is hoped when they are removed he will be able to grip with the hand again. He is now recovering at the home of Croatian-born Neda Thorne who also works with the Outlook Children's Fund, and lives in Buckinghamshire.

Speaking through Neda as an interpreter, Iljo said: "I can now move my thumb which I could not feel before. Before I could not spread my fingers unless there was a support behind them but now I can. I feel very happy and very grateful for what everyone has done for me. They are my guardian angels."

Neda added: "Iljo has had ten operations in the last three years, three on his hand, and they were not successful.

"He was anxious as he was worried he could come all this way and it could be like the other operations. But it has gone well."

Iljo will be allowed home after check-ups in a couple of weeks, but will return to Oxford later in the year for a second operation.

Dr Henk Giele today said the operation was a success and Iljo was doing well. He said: "All of the nerves in his arm were injured in the accident and one of them was not working at all.

"I took the scarring tissue away from one nerve and re-repaired the nerve that surgeons had operated on before. They had put a silicone chip in and I took that out and repaired it again in a more sophisticated way."

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