Blake Hall
After intense clashes between fighters from ISIS and the Iraqi military for control of the city of Tikrit, the tomb of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was almost completely demolished.
According to Associated Press video, all that remains of the once-luxurious resting place are the support columns that held up the roof. Shiite militia flags and photos of their leaders have replaced humungous posters of Saddam that once served as the mausoleum’s emblematic decoration.
“This is one of the areas where (ISIS) militants massed the most because Saddam’s grave is here,” said Captain Yasser Nu’ma, an official with the Shiite militias. “The (ISIS) militants’ set an ambush for us by planting bombs around the tomb.”
ISIS originally claimed in August that Saddam’s burial site had been destroyed, but that proved to be an exaggeration — it was merely burned and ransacked.
The nefarious terror group has controlled Tikrit since June.