Tri-Service

Saddam's Former Deputy "Killed Fighting Alongside Islamic State"

Saddam Hussein's former deputy has been killed by Iraqi government forces whilst fighting alongside Islamic State militants, say officials in the country.

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was the "King of Clubs" in the deck of playing cards issued to help US troops identify key members of Saddam's regime, after it was overthrown following the invasion of Iraq.

Raed al-Jubouri, the governor of Salahuddin province, was quoted by Sky News as saying:

"He is considered a mastermind for this terrorist group [Islamic State]. For sure this will have an impact on them... There will be a break among them."

Officials said soldiers and allied Shiite militiamen killed al-Douri in an operation east of the city of Tikrit.

Senior regional commander, General Haider al-Basri, told Iraqi state TV that al-Douri and nine bodyguards were killed by gunshots while riding in a convoy.

DNA tests are under way to confirm the identity of the body.

It isn't the first time Iraqi officials claimed to have killed or captured al-Douri.

In 2003, the government said it arrested al-Douri, circulating a photo of a bearded man who resembled the former Baathist. It later said it was a case of mistaken identity.

Al-Douri was officially the No. 2 man in Iraq's ruling hierarchy when the Baathist regime collapsed as US troops occupied Baghdad. He disappeared after the US invasion and was widely rumoured to be in hiding in northern cities in Iraq that bred Sunni insurgent groups.

He was ranked sixth out of the 55-strong list of most-wanted Iraqis, with a $10m reward offered for his capture.

Iraqi security forces recaptured al-Douri's hometown of Dawr in March as part of its large-scale offensive to retake Tikrit, which government forces seized control of earlier this month.