United States forces have taken into custody deposed Iraqi prime minister Tariq Aziz, according to CNN.

He was the eight of spades in the deck of cards distributed to coalition troops.

Aziz was one of the few Christians in deposed president Saddam Hussein's cabinet.

Born Michael Youhana in Mosul in 1936, he studied English literature at the Baghdad College of Fine Arts and was a teacher and journalist.

He joined the Ba'ath Party in 1957, working closely with Saddam to overthrow the monarchy.