Assault on Tikrit destroys Hussein tomb

The tomb of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein reportedly has been destroyed during the ongoing assault to liberate the strategic city of Tikrit from the Islamic State.

Security officials said on Monday the mausoleum located in Al Ouya, south of Tikrit, was destroyed during fighting that erupted in the area between Iraqi government forces and IS fighters.

Hussein's remains were no longer in the mausoleum, having been removed by his family last June, a month before the jihadis took control of the city.

Images broadcast of the tomb show that only a few of its pillars remain standing, indicating that it was destroyed with explosives or in bombardments.