Family: Body Of Tariq Aziz Missing In Iraq

Tariq Aziz (file photo)

The body of Tariq Aziz, Saddam Hussein's former top aide who died last week in prison in Iraq, reportedly went missing on June 11 while en route to Jordan for burial.

Aziz's daughter Zeinab said she was told by her mother -- who was in Iraq waiting to accompany the casket to Jordan -- that his body went missing at Baghdad International Airport.

A Royal Jordanian official confirmed that the last flight left Baghdad June 11 without Aziz's casket.

Calls to the Iraqi government for comment or information were not immediately returned.

Aziz died last week in the city of Nasiriyah, where he was imprisoned awaiting execution.

Iraqi forensics chief Zaid Ali Abbas says autopsy results June 11 confirmed that he died of a heart attack.

Aziz was the highest-ranking Christian in Saddam's regime and was the international face of the Baath Party in Iraq.

He was sentenced in October 2010 to hang for persecuting members of the Shi'ite Muslim religious parties that now dominate Iraq.

Based on reporting by AFP