Frederick Forsyth, the author of The Day of The Jackal, has died at the age of 86 after a brief illness, his literary agents Curtis Brown said.
The best-selling author was surrounded by his family as he died at home this morning, Curtis Brown added.
The British novelist is best known for writing thrillers like The Dogs of War, The Fox, The Kill List and The Afghan among others.
A former correspondent for Reuters and the BBC, and an informant for Britain's MI6 foreign spy agency, Mr Forsyth made his name by using his experiences as a reporter in Paris to pen the story of a failed assassination plot on Charles de Gaulle depicted in the 1971 novel The Day of The Jackal.
His agent Jonathan Lloyd said "We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers.
"Only a few weeks ago I sat with him as we watched a new and moving documentary of his life - In My Own Words, to be released later this year on BBC One - and was reminded of an extraordinary life, well lived."
Mr Lloyd said Mr Forsyth has served as "one of the youngest ever RAF pilots", adding that he then turned to journalism where he used "his gift for languages in German, French and Russian to become a foreign correspondent in Biafra".
"Appalled at what he saw and using his experience during a stint as a secret service agent, he wrote his first and perhaps most famous novel, The Day of the Jackal (1972), and instantly became a global bestselling author," he said.
Mr Lloyd said the late author wrote "more than 25 books, many of which were made into films, that have sold over 75 million copies".
"He will be greatly missed by his family, his friends, all of us at Curtis Brown and of course his millions of fans around the world - though his books will of course live on forever," he added.
Additional reporting Reuters
