Paraded in a glass coffin and flanked by jostling civilians, members of the armed forces and the media scrum, the former right-hand man of Saddam Hussein was handed over to the authorities today.
Iraqi officials said Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri had died in fighting with government troops in Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad, on Friday.
Today, his body was returned to Baghdad and delivered to the Ministry of Health as crowds gathered to get a closer look at the 'King of Clubs'.
A glass coffin with transparent panels carrying the body of Al-Douri - with his bright orange beard - was transferred from a van into a government vehicle. The event was broadcast live on state television in Iraq.
Al-Douri, 72, headed the Naqshbandi Order insurgent group, an important faction behind the recent rise of ISIS.
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.
His daughter was briefly married to Saddam's elder son, Uday, who - together with his brother Qusay - was killed by US forces in Mosul in July 2003.
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 on Friday 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.
