Islamic state fighters bomb 9 of Saddam Hussein's Palaces : View Pics

Islamic State (IS) militants on Thursday blew up nine luxurious palaces of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in his hometown of Tikrit.During his nearly 24-year stay in power, Saddam Hussein built dozens of palaces (between 80 and 100 according to different accounts) across Iraq. Palaces were built -most of them after the end of the 1991 Gulf War- in every major city as an expression of his authority. The militants planted bombs in the palaces and detonated them, the source told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.After the Fall of Baghdad in 2003, some palaces were occupied by the American army, while others were heavily looted by Iraqi citizens. By now, all of them have been handed over to the Iraqi government.