DHAKA: Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has died aged 85 after spending eight years in a coma following a stroke.

Sharon was a giant of the Israeli military and political scene, but courted controversy throughout his long career.

He was being treated at the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv. A hospital statement is expected shortly, reports the BBC.

On Thursday doctors announced that Sharon’s condition had deteriorated.

The 85-year-old, who became PM in 2001, was suffering from a malfunction of several organs including the kidneys, they said.

He had been in a persistent vegetative state since a stroke in 2006.

BDST: 1853 HRS, JAN 11, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor