Iraqi officials said they believe government forces killed Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the former number two to Saddam Hussein.

Al-Douri who has been a fugitive for more than a decade had become an underground figure involved in Sunni insurgencies, and most recently allying with Islamic State (ISIS) militants, reports USA Today.

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However, this is not the first time Iraqi officials have claimed to have killed or captured al-Douri. He was the king of clubs in the deck of playing cards issued to help American troops identify top fugitives after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

DNA tests were underway to confirm ther reports.

In 2013, the Iraqi 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.

News of al-Douri's death came as Iraqi forces fought to push back ISIS fighters in the Salahuddin province. Government troops recaptured several towns near the country's largest oil refinery at Beiji in the province, officials said.

USA Today reports that according to Raed al-Jabouri, the governor of Salahuddin province, al-Douri was killed by Iraqi troops and Shiite fighters in an operation in the Talal Hamreen mountains east of Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, which had retaken from the Islamic State group earlier this month.

Gen. Haider al-Basri, a senior Iraqi commander, told state TV that troops opened fire at a convoy carrying al-Douri and nine bodyguards, killing all of them.

The government made public several photos showing a body purported to be al-Douri. The body had a bright red beard, and a ginger-colored moustache. Al-Douri was a fair-skinned redhead with a ginger facial hair

The U.S. said it cannot confirm or corroborate the death of al-Douri.

Al-Douri was officially the No. 2 man to Saddam Hussein in Iraq during the dictator's rule. He was vice chairman of Saddam's Revolutionary Command Council, and one of Saddam's few longtime confidants. His daughter was married briefly to Saddam's son, Odai.

When Saddam's Baathist regime collapsed as U.S. troops occupied Baghdad, al-Douri disappeared, reports USA Today. He was No. 6 on the most-wanted list of 55 Iraqis after the invasion. When Saddam was killed months later and more regime figures were caught, al-Douri became the most prominent fugitive - and U.S. authorities soon linked him to the Sunni insurgencies.

TagsSaddam's Second in Comand is Killed in Action, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Revolutionary Command Council, Saddam Hussein, Haider al-Basr