The man convicted of the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing has died in prison in the US, according to reports.

Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as the Blind Sheikh, was serving a life sentence for masterminding the attack on the New York landmark which resulted in the deaths of six people.

Abdel-Rahman's son Ammar told the Reuters news agency that his father had died.

He said that his family had received a phone call from a US representative who relayed the news.

Abdel-Rahman was a former leader of the Egyptian Islamist militant group al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya.

Besides the 1993 attack on the World Trade Centre he was alleged to have planned to blow up other prominent New York buildings, including the UN headquarters.