Bestselling author Frederick Forsyth, known for his thrillers including The Day of the Jackal, has died at the age of 86, the BBC reports.

"We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," agent Jonathan Lloyd said in a statement.

Forsyth published more than 25 books, including "The Odessa File" and "The Dogs of War," and sold 75 million books worldwide, Lloyd said. 

His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, said, "Freddy's thrillers, which are still read by millions of people around the world, defined the genre and are still the benchmark to which modern writers aspire. He leaves behind an incomparable legacy that will continue to thrill and entertain for years to come."

Born in Kent in 1938, Forsyth was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot before becoming a war correspondent for the BBC and Reuters, and in 2015 revealed he had also worked for the British intelligence agency MI6 for more than 20 years.

Many of his fictional stories are based on his real experiences around the world.

He became famous for his first novel, 1971's The Day of the Jackal, which he wrote when he was out of work. 

"I was broke, in debt, no apartment, no car, nothing, and I was just thinking, 'How do I get out of this hole? And I came up with probably the most unlikely solution - to write a novel," he says.

The novel is a thrilling 1963 story about an Englishman hired to assassinate then-French president Charles de Gaulle.

The Day of the Jackal was made into a film in 1973 starring Edward Fox as the Jackal, and last year was turned into a TV drama starring Eddie Redmayne.

Forsythe died June 9 after a brief illness, the statement said.

"We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," Lloyd said. | BGNES