Convicted Former Nazi SS Captain Dead at 100

Charged with role in massacre of hundreds of civilians near Rome

Rome -- Erich Priebke, a former Nazi SS captain sentenced to life in prison for his role in one of the worst atrocities by German occupiers in Italy during World War II, died Friday, his lawyer said. He was 100.

Because of his age, Priebke had served his life term under house arrest at the home of his lawyer, Paolo Giachini, who announced the death in a brief statement.

"The dignity with which he withstood his persecution made him an example of courage, coherence and loyalty," Giachini said.

Priebke was extradited to Italy from Argentina in 1995 and put on trial for his role in the 1944 massacre of 335 civilians by Nazi forces at the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome. The massacre was carried out in retaliation for an attack by resistance fighters that killed 33 members of a Nazi military police unit a day earlier.