A fugitive Iraqi militant leader and the former right-hand man of Saddam Hussein has reportedly been killed in a skirmish. Iraqi officials said Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri had died in fighting with government troops in Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad. Al-Douri, 72, headed the Naqshbandi Order insurgent group, an important faction behind the recent rise of ISIS. Scroll down for video . Al-Douri was an Iraqi military commander and was Vice Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council, until the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq . Al-Douri was the King of Clubs in the famous pack of cards the US issued of wanted members of Saddam's regime after its collapse . He was one of Saddam's most trusted henchmen, helping to lead his 1968 bloodless coup. Both Al-Douri and Saddam came from the same Tikriti tribal background. He was then deputy to Saddam when he was deposed following the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Following the execution of Saddam Hussein on 30 December, 2006, Al-Douri was confirmed as the new leader of the banned Ba'ath Party. Al-Douri was deemed the most high-profile official of Saddam's Ba'ath Party to evade capture after the invasion. He was ranked sixth on the US military's list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis after offensive to overthrow Saddam and had a $10m bounty on his head. He was the King of Clubs in the infamous pack of cards the US issued of wanted members of Saddam's regime after its collapse. His dead body was pictured on social media today with his teeth missing, an unkempt orange beard and a bloody head wound. Salahuddin governor Raed al-Jabouri said soldiers and allied Shia militiamen killed him in an operation east of Tikrit - a city that was recaptured by the government two weeks ago. He said: 'This is a major victory for those involved in the operation. He is considered a mastermind for this terrorist group. 'For sure this will have an impact on them...there will be a break among them.' ISIS currently controls a swath of land slightly larger than the UK, from Aleppo to central Iraq. However, in recent months Iraqi forces, supported by US-led air strikes, have captured large areas from the terrorist group. But today, a car bomb killed three people outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region that is allied with Washington in a war against Islamic State, which claimed the attack. No U.S. personnel were hurt in the blast, according to the State Department which said a 'vehicle-borne improvised explosive device' exploded right outside the entrance to the heavily fortified compound. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for two car . bombings in Baghdad that killed at least 27 people on . Friday. 'The fighters of the Islamic State detonated two car bombs . in the heart of the Iraqi capital this evening and a third in . Erbil,' the group said via its news agency. Such attacks are relatively rare in Kurdistan, which has . managed to insulate itself from the worst of the violence . afflicting the rest of Iraq. A car bomb killed three people outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, today . Kurdish security forces respond to an explosion at the pedestrian entrance to the U.S. Consulate complex . In the invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition, the military developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of Saddam's regime. This was mostly high-ranking members of the Iraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party or members of the Revolutionary Command Council. The cards were officially named the 'personality identification playing cards'. Each card contained the wanted person's address and, if available, the job they carried out. The highest-ranking cards, starting with the aces and kings, were used for the people at the top of the most-wanted list. Al-Douri was the King of Clubs in the pack of cards.
Iraqi officials say Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 72, has died in fighting in Tikrit .
He was one of Saddam Hussein's most trusted henchmen in Ba'ath Party .
Was one of the most high-profile officials to evade capture after invasion .
Had a $10m bounty on his head and was one of the US's most wanted men .