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

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.