CAIRO, July 19 (UPI) -- The health of the former head of Egyptian intelligence declined after undergoing medical tests in the United States, state-media said after his death.
Omar Suleiman suffered from heart problems that were complicated by lung disease. He died Thursday at the age of 76 in a Cleveland hospital after several weeks of medical tests, Egyptian state-run news agency MENA reports.
In an April 6 statement, said he said couldn't "refuse people's will" and decided to enter the country's presidential race. He was disqualified, however, along with a series of other candidates, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Khairat al-Shater.
Suleiman, former intelligence chief and one-time vice president, had testified in a case against Hosni Mubarak that the former president was aware that security forces were using deadly force against civilian demonstrators during last year's revolution.
He announced on state television Feb. 11, 2011, that Mubarak had resigned and handed authority over to the military authorities, who maintain their grip on political affairs.
Suleiman is to be honored in a military funeral Friday in Cairo.
