Chilean authorities put former dictator Augusto Pinochet under house arrest Monday in connection with the kidnapping of two of his political opponents in 1974, a judicial source said.

Pinochet, whose health is deteriorating, ruled Chile with absolute power from 1973 to 1990 and is accused of dozens of human rights violations.

According to an official report, about 3,000 people died for political reasons under his 17-year rule. More than 1,000 people also disappeared and have never been found.

Although Pinochet's immunity from prosecution has been stripped in several human rights cases, he has never been brought to trial in connection with any of the cases in which thousands of people were illegally imprisoned, tortured and forced into exile.

The former leader turned 91 on Saturday and accepted in a stunning admission what he termed "political responsibility" for the atrocities during his regime. His wife read the written statement in front of some 200 birthday well-wishers gathered at his suburban Santiago home.

But the retired general still defended the bloody military coup that toppled his freely elected predecessor, Salvador Allende. 

Pinochet is currently under indictment in two human rights cases, and has scores of others criminal suits pending. He has not spoken publicly in a long time, and has previously blamed what he called "excesses" of his regime on subordinates.

With files from the Associated Press