Polygamist leader 'seriously ill'

Warren Jeffs, the jailed leader of a polygamist Texan sect, has been moved to a hospital because of a serious medical problem, US officials say.

Jeffs, 52, travelled 100 miles from his Arizona prison to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Las Vegas, on Tuesday.

He was convicted last November of conspiracy to rape after forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her cousin.

In April, US officials removed 416 children from the sect's ranch after receiving a report of sexual abuse.

A Texas court later overturned the decision to remove the children.

Suicide bid

Jeffs is currently being tried in Arizona on four counts of being an accomplice to sexual conduct with a minor, stemming from the marriages of two girls.

He had also been charged with four counts of incest as an accomplice, but those charges were dropped last month.

While in prison, Jeffs has been treated in an infirmary for a self-imposed fast.

He has also attempted suicide, and was observed throwing himself against walls and banging his head, according to prison authorities.