Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein’s tomb DESTROYED in Islamic State battle
THE TOMB of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been completely destroyed during fierce fighting to the north of the capital, Baghdad.
Former Iraqi tyrant was executed three years after he was captured by US forces in 2003
Video footage shows the once-lavish mausoleum for the ousted tyrant now lying in ruins, with only crumbling pillars still standing.
The images show mounds of bricks and twisted steel, with complete sections of wall toppled and large craters showing what appears to be bomb damage.
Islamic State (IS) militants reportedly left bombs and booby traps as they fled the village of al-Awja near Tikrit – which has seen heavy fighting in recent days as government forces attempt to regain the town.
Iraq conflict- Saddam's tomb destroyed in Tikrit fighting
The IS militants set an ambush for us by planting bombs around
Members of the Sunni community have blamed rival Shia fighters for deliberately ransacking the tomb, which had become a shrine to the former despot.
Hussein was hanged in December 2006 for crimes against humanity.
Three years earlier, US forces captured the ousted president after he was found in a tiny bunker underneath a farmhouse not far from Tikrit.
As the conflict intensified in recent months, local Sunnis claimed to have moved Hussein’s body to an unknown location in a bid to protect it from the fighting.
An Iraqi soldier inspects the demolished tomb of former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, in Tikrit.
Reporters in the area said poster-sized pictures of the dictator that at one time adorned the site have been replaced with Shia militia flags, fuelling suspicions the site had been sabotaged.
Pictures taken in 2007 from inside the tomb show a plush, marble-floored interior with portraits of Hussein and flowers covering his coffin.
"This is one of the areas where IS militants massed the most because Saddam's grave is here," said Captain Yasser Numa, an official with the militias.
"The IS militants set an ambush for us by planting bombs around."
IS claimed last summer that the mausoleum had been destroyed, although this was disputed by local officials who stated the building had been only partially damaged.
The recapture of the strategic city of Tikrit, Hussein's birthplace, is seen as a key part of the Iraqi army’s fight to push back IS forces.
The lavish interior of the ousted president pictured in 2007, before fighting levelled the site
Iraqi schoolgirls mark the anniversary of Saddam Hussein's death with a tribute inside the tomb