Ahmed Chalabi, key lobbyist for US invasion of Iraq, dies

Ahmed Chalabi, a key lobbyist for the US invasion of Iraq who was blamed for providing false intelligence on weapons of mass destruction to justify it, died of a heart attack Tuesday, parliament said.

Chalabi, a 71-year-old lawmaker who headed the finance committee, "died this morning... of a heart attack," parliament said in a statement offering condolences for his death.

Living in exile as head of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), which opposed Saddam Hussein, Chalabi became a White House favourite for information he provided which supported the US justification for attacking Iraq in 2003.

- Yahoonews