By Ali Jawad
BAGHDAD (AA) – Former Iraqi Information Minister Latif Nassif Jassim, who served under former dictator Saddam Hussein, died Monday at the age of 80, according to an Iraqi health official.
Jassim passed away at a hospital in the capital Baghdad, the official added on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
The Iraqi authorities have yet to confirm his death.
Born in 1941, Jassim served in several posts in the Saddam Hussein’s regime. He was also a special adviser to the Iraqi strongman.
Following the US invasion, Washington listed Jassim as a wanted figure and arrested him in 2003.
In 2009, he was slapped with a life sentence on charges of committing crimes against humanity.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara