A statement circulated in the name of the Baath Party said yesterday that Izzat Ibrahim Al Douri, the highest-ranking figure from Saddam Hussein's regime, had died. The report was not independently confirmed. "The leader of the resistance died yesterday at 2.20am," (Thursday, 2320 GMT), according to a statement signed by the command of the dissolved former ruling Baath party.

There was a 10 million US dollar bounty outstanding on Izzat Ibrahim, 63, who was said to be gravely ill with leukaemia. He was erroneously reported to have been captured in September last year.

Izzat Ibrahim was the most senior former Iraqi leader still at large since Saddam was captured in December, 2003.

He did much of Saddam's dirty work and commanded an entire army corps despite never having attended a military institution or school of higher learning.

More than 60 people gathered in his home town of Dur outside the former Baath party headquarters after television stations announced the news.

"To continue the Jihad, the Baath party regional command has decided to hand over responsibility for leading the resistance factions in Iraq to Abdul Kader Talab Al Douri, deputy to the secretary general of the party," the statement said.

Hailing from the Tikrit region, Izzat Ibrahim helped plot the 1968 coup that brought the Baath party to power. His frail appearance hid a ruthlessness that helped Saddam keep his grip at the top.

The US military has said he helped lead the Sunni Arab-led insurgency that erupted after the invasion.

PHOTO CAPTION

Izzat Ibrahim Al Douri.