Iraqi Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin was quoted by the Daily News as saying that Saddam is suffering from a chronic prostate infection, but has refused to undergo a biopsy to rule out any chance of him having cancer.

Amin, who was speaking in an interview on Al-Jazeera television said Saddam otherwise seemed to be in good health.

Chronic prostate infections are common, occurring in about 35 percent of all men over 50, but are not linked to cancer. However, routine screening for prostate cancer, especially among older men, is common.

Saddam, 67, has been held under US detention at an undisclosed location in Iraq since his capture last December.

On Thursday, one of Saddam's lawyers, a Jordanian, was quoted as saying that the dictator had suffered a stroke, and could die before his trial.

"Saddam did not have a stroke and he is not dead," First Sergeant Steve Valley was quoted as saying by a foreign news agency.