Ex-Syrian vice president Khaddam dies in France - source close to him

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and former Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam take part in a session of parliament in this file picture dated July 17, 2000. Khaddam, who later became a prominent opponent of Assad, died on Tuesday. (REUTERS File Photo)

PARIS (Reuters) - Abdul-Halim Khaddam, a former Syrian vice president who became a prominent opponent of President Bashar al-Assad's rule after fleeing to Paris in 2005, died on Tuesday in France, Salah Ayach, a Syrian exile who was close to him, said. He was 88.

Khaddam died at 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) of a heart attack, Ayach said. Khaddam had served for 30 years in the Syrian state under the late President Hafez al-Assad and his son, Bashar, who became president in 2000.