Islamic extremist pleads guilty at International Criminal Court

An Islamic extremist has pleaded guilty at the International Criminal Court and expressed “deep regret” for destroying historic mausoleums in the Malian desert city of Timbuktu.

Wearing a dark suit and striped tie, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi stood and calmly told judges he was entering the guilty plea “with deep regret and great pain” and advised Muslims around the world not to commit similar acts, saying “they are not going to lead to any good for humanity”.

Al Mahdi led a group of radicals that destroyed 14 of Timbuktu’s 16 mausoleums in 2012 because they considered them “totems of idolatry”.