Egypt's Mubarak leaves intensive care after operation

CAIRO (AFP) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak left the intensive care unit of a German hospital on Wednesday, four days after having a gall bladder removed, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali said.

Hosni Mubarak (© AFP/File - Cris Bouroncle)

Mubarak, 81, "left the intensive care unit this morning for an ordinary room at the Heidelberg University Hospital," Gabali was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying.

"The president's general state is constantly improving," Gabali added, without indicating when Mubarak might leave the hospital.

During the surgery on Saturday, Mubarak also had a growth removed from his small intestine.

In 2004, the president was treated in Germany for a slipped disc.

Mubarak has delegated executive powers to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif until he returns to Cairo.

His health is usually a taboo subject in the country he has ruled since 1981, fuelling regular rumours. Journalists writing about Mubarak's health have been handed jail sentences in the past.

Mubarak's fifth six-year term as president ends in 2011. During a speech in 2005, he said he would stay in power until his "last breath."