Baghdad:  Authorities said that an Iraqi cleric who had escaped from prison and spent two days on the run died on Thursday as security forces closed in on him.

This month, Saad Qambash, a former leader of the Sunni Waqf in Iraq, was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud.

When the senior cleric escaped from the detention facility in the Green Zone of the capital on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani made the decision to fire the security chief in Baghdad and shut down the facility.

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Approximately 350 kilometres north of Baghdad, in northern Iraq, the Interior Ministry reported that Qambash had been discovered.

The interior and health ministries later released a statement in which they claimed the cleric had attempted to elude capture.

The statement stated, "During his arrest he tried to flee — the forces pursued him but he fainted," and added that he had passed away before reaching the hospital.

The deceased's body, which displayed no signs of bruises despite having suffered from chronic illnesses, was further stated.

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Qambash died of a "heart attack," according to a representative of the Interior Ministry, and an autopsy was anticipated. Qambash was given a four-year sentence on April 11 by a court for using $36 million in Waqf funds to purchase a hotel that anti-corruption investigators deemed to not be "economically viable."

Al-Sudani made the decision "to dismiss Lt. Gen. Hamid Al-Zuhairi, commander of the Special Division," who oversaw security in the Green Zone, as a result of Tuesday's escape, according to a statement from the premier's office on Thursday.

Government buildings, embassies, and politicians' residences are all located in the heavily guarded Green Zone. The general was dismissed "due to insufficient action taken in response to the incident," according to the statement, and "all those responsible" would be held accountable "and legally punished."

Al-Sudani also directed the transfer of prisoners housed there and the closure of the unit at the Karrada Maryam police station.
Eight officers and 18 regular police were detained on suspicion of assisting Qambash in escaping, according to a statement made by a representative of the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

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Iraq suffers from widespread corruption, where public funds are frequently stolen from state coffers. Al-Sudani has repeatedly vowed to fight "the pandemic of corruption" since taking office last year.