BAGHDAD 

The Arab Socialist Baath Party on Monday announced the death of Izzat al-Douri, the right-hand of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, at the age of 78.

This came in an audio recording via the Facebook account of the banned party in Iraq.

The Iraqi authorities have not yet confirmed al-Douri's death.

Al-Douri was the second-most senior figure in Saddam Hussein’s regime and had been wanted by the US.

The last appearance of al-Douri was in a video footage in April 2019, as he conveyed a message to Kuwait apologizing for the Iraqi invasion in 1990.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat