OUJA, Iraq – The tomb of Iraq’s late dictator Saddam Hussein has been virtually levelled in heavy clashes between militants from the jihadist IS group and Iraqi forces in a fight for control of the city of Tikrit.
Fighting intensified to the north and south of Saddam Hussein’s hometown on Sunday as Iraqi security forces vowed to reach the centre of Tikrit within 48 hours.
Associated Press video from the village of Ouja, just south of Tikrit, shows all that remains of Hussein’s once-lavish tomb are the support columns that held up the roof.
Poster-sized pictures of Saddam, which once covered the mausoleum, are now nowhere to be seen amid the mountains of concrete rubble.
Instead, Shiite militia flags and photos of militia leaders mark the predominantly Sunni village.
The extremist IS group has controlled Tikrit since June, when it waged its lightning offensive that saw Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, come under its control.
IS claimed in August that Saddam’s tomb had been destroyed, but local officials said it was just ransacked and burned, but had only minor damage.
