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THROUGH THE JIHADI HOLE

Take a tour through Saddam Hussein’s trashed Mosul palace after it was bombed and retaken from ISIS thugs

ONCE it was an evil dictator's lair, then the US Army came and went before invading ISIS moved in.

Now it's a pulverised monument to the destruction of war.

The elite Iraqi Counterterrorism forces (ICTS) liberated the sprawling ex-Presidential Palace on Thursday after fierce fighting to expel ISIS.

The Presidential Palace after Saddam Hussein was deposed
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The Presidential Palace after Saddam Hussein was deposedCredit: Getty Images

Deranged Daesh won the keys to the palace after capturing Mosul in 2014.

But before that it was briefly occupied by the US Army.

They moved in after the 2003 invasion.

And they were excellent tenants.

For when they left it was largely how they found it.

Capt. Marleen Lajoie of Augusta, right, descends a spiral staircase
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Capt. Marleen Lajoie of Augusta, right, descends a spiral staircaseCredit: Getty Images
An American soldier in the hall way in the marbled Presidential Place
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 An American soldier in the hall way in the marbled Presidential PlaceCredit: Getty Images
Col. John Jansen and a 22-member detachment of the 133rd Engineer Battalion set up office in the bedroom
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Col. John Jansen and a 22-member detachment of the 133rd Engineer Battalion set up office in the bedroomCredit: Getty Images

But by the time Iraqi soldiers moved in last week they found the palace bore no resemblance to its former blingtastic self.

Gone are the halls of columned marble, luxury furnishings and fittings.

The extravagant chandeliers hanging from ceilings were long ago smashed to smithereens.

For months of air raids and shelling has stripped the compound down to bare bone concrete and stone.

From this shot, the Presidential Palace in Mosul does not look that badly damaged
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From this shot, the Presidential Palace in Mosul does not look that badly damagedCredit: Rudaw
But side on you can see the building has been knocked about a bit
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But side on you can see the building has been knocked about a bitCredit: Rudaw
A chandelier once hung down from here
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A chandelier once hung down from hereCredit: Rudaw
Just an eerie grey concrete shell remains
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Just an eerie grey concrete shell remainsCredit: Rudaw
Walls are daubed with ISIS slogans
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Walls are daubed with ISIS slogansCredit: Rudaw
An ISIS flag adorns a wall
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An ISIS flag adorns a wallCredit: Rudaw

The only decorations now are wall paints and scrawls of the so called Islamic State.

The huge compound next to the Tigris River served as the death cult’s accommodation and meeting place.

Outbuildings were used for command and control, training, internal security and repression, according to the UK MoD.

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An RAF reconnaissance image of the Presidential Palace at Mosul, Northern Iraq, released by the MoD before it was bombed
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An RAF reconnaissance image of the Presidential Palace at Mosul, Northern Iraq, released by the MoD before it was bombedCredit: MOD

That’s why RAF Tornados came by in August with 2,000lbs “Bunker Buster” bombs.

The warplanes flying from their base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, used the special laser-guided Enhanced Paveway III bombs - a whopping 4.39m long - to hit the HQ.

The results are clear for all to see.

The jets usually carry Paveway IV and Brimstone warheads in their aerial arsenal for backing ground troops.

But in the mission it used Bunker Buster bombs to smash the jihadi maniacs in their reinforced concrete hiding place.

It is clear where the RAF bunker buster bomb fell
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It is clear where the RAF bunker buster bomb fellCredit: Rudaw
Once a bunker buster falls nothing will stop it from burrowing through buildings
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Once a bunker buster falls nothing will stop it from burrowing through buildingsCredit: Rudaw
The RAF seems to have done a good job of destroying the palace
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The RAF seems to have done a good job of destroying the palaceCredit: Rudaw
An ISIS machine gun post is left abandoned after the jihadis flee
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An ISIS machine gun post is left abandoned after the jihadis fleeCredit: Rudaw

 

An Iraqi journalist surveys the damaged Mosul Presidential Palace
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An Iraqi journalist surveys the damaged Mosul Presidential PalaceCredit: Rudaw
The Mosul Presidential Palace gardens are not what they were
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The Mosul Presidential Palace gardens are not what they wereCredit: Rudaw

RAF warplanes have killed or wounded more than 2,000 ISIS fighters in air attacks over Iraq during the last year.

A total of 1,864 ISIS jihadis were killed while another 182 were recorded as having been wounded in Operation Shader airstrikes on the death cult’s strongholds.

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