(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The tomb of Iraq's late dictator Saddam Hussein was virtually leveled in heavy clashes between militants from the Daesh 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 center 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.
Iraqi soldiers stand next to the demolished tomb of former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, in Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq on March 15, 2015. -AP
Poster-sized pictures of Saddam, which once covered the mausoleum, are now nowhere to be seen amid the mountains of concrete rubble. Instead, militia flags and photos of militia leaders mark the village, including that of Major Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the powerful Iranian general advising Iraqi militias on the battlefield.
"This is one of the areas where Daesh militants massed the most because Saddam's grave is here," said Captain Yasser Nu'ma, an official with the militias, formerly known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces. "The Daesh militants' set an ambush for us by planting bombs around" the tomb.
The extremist Daesh group has controlled Tikrit since June, when it waged its lightning offensive that saw Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, come under their control. The group was helped in its conquest of northern Iraq by Saddam loyalists, including military veterans, who felt victimised by Baghdad's government.
Daesh claimed in August that Saddam's tomb had been completely destroyed, but local officials said it was just ransacked and burned, but suffered only minor damage.
Saddam was captured by US forces in 2003 and was executed by hanging in December 2006 after an Iraqi special tribunal found him guilty of crimes against humanity for the mass killing of Iraqis. His body has been kept in the mausoleum in his birthplace, Ouja, since 2007. The complex featured a marble octagon at the center of which a bed of fresh flowers covered the place where his body was buried. The extravagant chandelier at its center was reminiscent of the extravagant life he led until US forces toppled him in 2003.
Iraqi soldiers stand next to the demolished tomb of former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, in Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq on March 15, 2015. - AP
Iraqi media reported last year that Saddam's body was removed by loyalists amid fears that it would be disturbed in the fighting. The body's location is not known.
Recapturing Tikrit would pave the way for an assault on Mosul, which US officials have said could come as soon as next month.
Concerns are mounting that Iraq's militias, of which an estimated 20,000 are fighting in Tikrit, will carry out revenge attacks on this and other areas that are home to predominantly Sunni residents.
Amnesty International last year said the militias wear military uniforms but operate outside any legal framework and without any official oversight, adding that they are not prosecuted for their crimes. Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch echoed those concerns, calling on the Iraqi government to protect civilians in Tikrit and allow them to flee combat zones. Its statement noted "numerous atrocities" against civilians by pro-government militias and security forces.
Militants are increasingly being accused of leveling towns they capture from the Daesh group, making it impossible for residents to return. Tikrit has already been heavily damaged in months of violence. A satellite image of Tikrit, released last month by the United Nations, observed that at least 536 buildings in the city have been affected by the fighting, with at least 137 completely destroyed and 241 severely damaged.
Local tribal fighters have formed uneasy alliances with the Iraqi army and militias in the battle for Tikrit, which Iraqi and US officials believe is essential for defeating the militant group.
Yazan Al Jubouri, from Tikrit fighting alongside militias, said that the Daesh militants killed 16 of his relatives and kept his family living in horror.
"We want to take revenge on those Daesh militants who killed our children," he said.
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