'Blind sheikh' convicted in 1993 World Trade bombing dies in U.S. prison

Egyptian Omar Abdel-Rahman speaks during a news conference in this still image taken from February 1993 video footage on January 18, 2013. REUTERS/Reuters TV/Files

(Reuters) - Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Muslim cleric known as "the blind sheikh" who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and of planning a broader "war of urban terrorism" in the United States, died on Saturday in a North Carolina prison, authorities said.

Abdel-Rahman, 78, died of natural causes at 9:40 a.m. (1440 GMT) at a medical centre at a federal prison compound in Butner, North Carolina, according to Greg Norton, a spokesman.