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Mar 16, 2015 · Footage filmed by the AP news agency shows that all that remains standing of the once-lavish mausoleum in the village of al-Awja are some pillars. Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militia...
- 32 sec
Mar 23, 2015 · Government fighters near the Tikrit suburb of Al-Awja told VICE News on Saturday that the government’s forces were about three miles from the center of Tikrit waiting for commanders to...
- David Enders
- Overview
- IN-DEPTH
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militants attacked and burned the tomb of ex-dictator Saddam Hussein, a senior Iraqi security official told NBC News Thursday as various groups were locked in deadly battles for control of the country. The blackened burial site in the deposed leader’s birthplace of Al-Awja, about 95 miles north of Baghdad, was shown in unverified amateur video posted to YouTube.
“Those shown in the video are militias from the Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq (AAH),” said the official, who added that the ex-leader’s body had not been moved for safekeeping before Monday's attack as some tribal leaders had previously claimed. AAH, or “League of the Righteous,” is a Shiite militant group. Saddam, who was a Sunni Muslim, was hanged in 2006 after being convicted of the killing of 148 Shiite villagers in 1982. The tomb had been left unguarded after government forces recaptured the area from Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants seeking to establish a caliphate.
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- Ghazi Balkiz and Alastair Jamieson
- 2 min
Al-Awja (Arabic: العوجة) is a village 8 miles (13 km) south of Tikrit, Iraq on the western bank of the Tigris. It is mainly inhabited by Sunni Arabs. The village is known for being the hometown and place of burial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Aug 25, 2024 · Stay on top of Iraq latest developments on the ground with Al Jazeera’s fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated maps.
Feb 12, 2024 · The prime minister, president and the armed forces all condemned what they called the blatant disregard for Iraq's sovereignty. Major General Tahsin al Khafaji, spokesperson for the Iraqi Joint ...
Dec 30, 2006 · Sep 22 1980: Iraq invades Iran, with which it has had a long-term border dispute. He cracks down on the Shia Islamist al-Dawa party, which has ties to Iran’s revolutionary regime.
