BEIRUT: A Lebanese army general says the leader of an Al Qaeda-linked group that has conducted attacks across the Middle East before shifting its focus to Syria's civil war has died in custody in Lebanon.

The general says the detainee, Majid al-Majid, died on Saturday after suffering kidney failure. The general spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Al-Majid, a Saudi citizen was detained in Lebanon late last month and had been held at a secret location.

He was the purported commander of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades and one of the 85 most-wanted individuals in his native Saudi Arabia.

The US State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 2012, freezing any assets it holds in the United States and banning Americans from doing business with the group.