A Nazi war criminal, Erich Priebke, who was jailed for life in 1998 for his role in World War II massacre of 335 Italians at Ardeatine Caves in Rome, was reported dead by his lawyer, Paolo Giachini .

Erich Priebke died at the age of 100 years in Italy where he was serving his sentenced under house arrest.

According to what sources revealed, Priebke was one of the SS officers present during the killing of men and boys at the caves in 1944, in a reprisal attack ordered by Adolf Hitler for the killing of 33 German soldiers in Rome by resistance fighters.

He was among the officers who oversaw the operation to round up victims and transport them to a network of caves on the outskirts of the city where they were all shot.

Though Priebke admitted his role in the massacre, he never expressed any remorse and maintained he was following orders.

He was extradited to Italy in 1994 after he was discovered working as a school teacher in Argentina.