An Islamist militant has admitted destroying cultural and holy sites in Timbuktu during Mali's 2012 conflict at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi expressed his "deep regret" at the beginning of a trial which is the first of its kind to cite destroying cultural artifacts as a war crime.

The landmark trial is also the first where a Islamist militant has appeared and the first time a suspect has pleaded guilty.

Madhu stands accused of leading a rebel group who destroyed historic shrines at the world heritage site and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years.

Addressing the court, Mahdi said with "great pain" he had to enter a guilty plea and all the charges against him are "accurate and correct".

Mahdi also advised Muslims around the world against committing similar acts, saying "they are not going to lead to any good for humanity."

Mahdi's rebel group is believed to have destroyed at least nine mausoleums and the door of a mosque in 2012 because they considered them totems of idolatry.

Most of the one-room structures that house the tombs of the city's great dated from the 14th-century and were on the World Heritage list.

In 2013, after occupying Timbuktu for almost a year, the Islamist rebels were finally driven out by French forces, who arrested Mahdi in neighbouring Niger in 2014.

Following his guilty plea, Mahdi's trial is expected to conclude this week.