BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other senior Iraqi dignitaries are paying final respects to prominent politician Ahmad Chalabi.

Chalabi, who died of a heart attack Tuesday at age 71, will be buried in Najaf on Wednesday.

Chalabi became a Pentagon favourite when he helped persuade the Bush administration to overthrow Saddam Hussein in 2003 by pushing false allegations of weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaida. However, he fell out with the Pentagon after the invasion, and was largely sidelined by other Iraqi leaders.

Other senior officials gathering at parliament in Baghdad included President Fouad Massoum and prominent Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim. Chalabi's family is also there.

Chalabi had most recently been serving as the chairman of parliament's finance committee, and was previously a deputy prime minister.