Saddam Hussein's tomb destroyed in fight

It would appear that even in death, former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein may suffer some violence as reports say his tomb is almost destroyed in the fighting in Tikrit.

BBC reports that according to footage from Associated Press (AP), all that remains standing of the once-lavish mausoleum in the village of al-Awja are some pillars.

Indigenes however insist that Saddam's body no longer lies in the tomb as the local Sunni population say they had removed Saddam's body and taken it to an unknown location last year.

Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militia are battling to drive Islamic State (IS) militants from Tikrit and the capture of the tomb came as fighting intensified north and south of Tikrit on Sunday.

Iraqi security forces have vowed to reach the city centre within 48 hours.

According to the AP footage shows, the mausoleum could be seen reduced to concrete rubble while poster-sized pictures of Saddam which once covered the mausoleum were replaced with Shia militia flags and pictures of militia leaders, including Iranian General Qassem Soleimani who advises the Shia militias.

IS had said last August that the tomb had been completely destroyed but local officials denied this, saying it had been ransacked and suffered only minor damage.

Saddam Hussein, a native of Tikrit, was captured by US forces in 2003 and hanged for the killings of Shia Muslims and Kurds in 2006 after an Iraqi tribunal convicted him of crimes against humanity.

His body had been kept in the mausoleum, which featured a marble octagon with a bed of fresh flowers at the centre, since 2007.