BULLSH*t! He most likely sustained his injuries by trying to change his fan belt while the car was still running. Some of my in-laws lived in Cairo for a couple of years and marveled over motorists driving at night without their headlights, and guys trying to fix their cars on the side of the road, with their top halves underneath the car and their legs hanging out in the road! They have no conception of safety when it comes to modern machinery. After all, if any mishaps occur, they chalk it up to the will of Allah.
LOL
I do doubt it was anything as honorable as a combat wound inflicted by the Soviets. Probably a premature detonation.