Abu Abbas, the Palestinian mastermind of the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking in 1985, has died of natural causes in US custody in Iraq, a top Palestinian official has said.
"We have been informed that Mohammed Abbas or Abu Abbas, head of the Palestine Liberation Front, who has been held in American custody, has died in Iraq," he said, adding that the death was "related to his deteriorating health situation".
The US military in Baghdad said it had no information.