Former Iraqi Official Dies in U.S. Hospital

BAGHDAD — Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Hamza Zubaidi has died at a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad, the American military said Monday. He was 67.

Zubaidi, a Shiite Muslim, died Friday after being transferred from detention to U.S. 344th Corps Support Hospital when he began “complaining of chest pains,” Army Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill said. An autopsy was expected.

Zubaidi was on the Pentagon’s list of 55 most wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s toppled regime. He led Hussein’s forces in central Iraq during the initial stages of the U.S.-led invasion in early 2003.

Iraqi forces captured him April 20 of that year in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, without firing a shot.

Zubaidi had been expected to face the special tribunal hearing war crimes charges against the former Iraqi president and other former government officials.