Al-Douri was the "king of clubs" in the deck of cards that were issued to American soldiers to help them identify top members of Saddam`s regime after the 2003 U.S. led invasion that led to the collapse of his government. Saddam, the long-time dictator, was captured by American forces in late 2003 and executed by an interim Iraqi government three years later.

The Pentagon said Friday that it could not confirm the reports of al-Douri`s capture.

Iraqi officials said he was killed in an ambush in an operation in the Talal Hamreen mountains east of Tikrit, Saddam`s hometown, which was retaken from the Islamic State extremist group earlier this month.

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

The government said it was undertaking DNA tests to confirm his death.

If confirmed, his death would lend credence to the suspicion that al-Douri had continued to play a prominent role as the al-Qaeda in Iraq insurgency evolved into the Islamic State.

The Islamic State, a radical Sunni group, has teamed up with Sunnis ousted from Iraq`s military to fight Iraq`s Shiite-dominated government.

Al-Douri had achieved near mythic status after having eluded Iraqi and U.S. forces for more than a decade while allegedly pulling the strings on a growing insurgency after the U.S.-led invasion.

Old photos of him with his distinctive bristle mustache and reddish hair frequently appeared on Iraqi news shows. At least once before the Iraqi government claimed to have arrested him. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

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