Tariq Aziz, Iraqi foreign minister under Saddam Hussein, dies in prison

Baghdad: Tariq Aziz, who was foreign minister of Iraq under Saddam Hussein, has died in prison, Iraqi officials said on Friday. He was 79.

Aziz surrendered in April 2003 to a U.S. invasion force which overthrew Saddam. He was sentenced to death seven years later over the persecution of Islamic parties under the former Iraqi leader. He had long complained of ill-health during his detention.

Dr. Saadi al-Majid, head of the health department of Dhi Qar governorate where Aziz was being held, confirmed Aziz's death to Reuters.

"Tariq Aziz arrived at al-Nasiriya Educational hospital suffering from a severe heart attack. He had heart complications that led to his death at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT)."

Another Iraqi source also confirmed he had died at the hospital.

A fluent English speaker, Aziz played a prominent diplomatic role in the run-up to the 1991 Gulf War to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, as well as in the long-running disputes over United Nations weapons inspections in subsequent years.

A Chaldean Christian, he was born in the village of Tal Keif, near Mosul in northern Iraq. His association with Saddam dated back to the 1950s, when the two men were involved in the then-outlawed Baath party, which sought to oust the British-backed monarchy.

Aziz was number 43 on the U.S. most-wanted list of Iraqi officials when he gave himself up just two weeks after Saddam was toppled.