Saddam statue pulled down
The regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein collapsed today after a a blistering three-week military campaign led by US forces.
General Buford Blount, commander of the US 3rd Infantry Division, said the combat phase of the Iraqi war - in the capital and in southern Iraq - would end in a few days' time.
US tanks drove into public squares in the east of Baghdad for the first time.
Thousands of people took to the streets of the city chanting pro-American and anti-Saddam Hussein slogans.
In what reporters described as extraordinary scenes, people cheered, waved and threw flowers as US Marines moved towards the centre of the capital.
The troops met no resistance, and other reports say there has been no sign of police or other authorities on the streets of the city.
Earlier today, US troops pulled down a 20-foot high statue of President Saddam Hussein in central Baghdad and Iraqis danced on it. To view the statue being pulled down, click here.
Looting in city
The United Nations office in the city has been looted. UN vehicles have been driven out of the compound.
Earlier in the day, citizens rampaged through both the Irrigation and Interior ministries in the north of the capital, taking anything they could carry.
People also broke into shops and homes in Saddam City, a Shi'ite Muslim bastion in the northeast of the capital, stealing furniture, food, electrical equipment and carpets.
Witnesses say looters have also raided shops around a bombed building which is the effective headquarters of President Saddam Hussein's elder son, Uday.
The scenes are being interpreted as the first visible sign that the people of Iraq believe that Saddam Hussein's regime has finally collapsed.
US Central Command has said it has added Baghdad to the list of places the Iraqi regime does not have control over, but emphasised that Iraqi troops are still in place outside Baghdad.
White house still cautious
The White House has indicated that the US president George W Bush is 'pleased' that Iraqis are showing what he described as 'the desire to be free'.
However, Mr Bush said that 'utmost caution' was still needed in Iraq.
This evening massive explosions were heard in the southwestern outskirts of Baghdad.
While tank and artilley fire cotinued to be heard on the western bank of the Tigris, an American general said that central Baghdad had been secured but not the whole city.
The US Vice President Dick Cheney said there may be still hard fighting ahead in Northern Iraq where Saddam's forces are still deployed.
Mr Cheney said that US and Iraqi officials will meet in southern Iraq on Saturday next to begin planning for an interim government.
But he said the conclusion of the war would mark one of the most extraordinary military campaigns ever conducted.
World reaction
There has been mixed reaction in the Arab world at events in Baghdad.
Saudi Arabia has said that British and American occupation should end as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian Foreign Minister has said that a breakdown of security in Iraq would have serious repercussions.
The Taoiseach had a lengthy telephone conversation this evening with UN Secretary General Koffi Annan.
Mr Ahern briefed the Secretary General on his talks yesterday with President Bush and Prime minister Blair and told him of there committment to the UN having a role in post war Iraq
The two men said they would keep in touch over the coming days.
No Information Ministry briefing
Earlier, in what is seen as a significant development, the Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, cancelled his daily press conference.
Information Ministry officials who normally accompany foreign journalists around the city have not turned up.
Hospitals under pressure
About 5,000 US troops have been consolidating their positions in the city centre with more forces coming in from the north and southeast.
Sporadic but fierce fighting continues to be reported on the ground, with Iraqi units also being attacked from the air.
There are fears that hospitals in Baghdad are becoming overcrowded, with civilians being caught in crossfire and the numbers requring treatment continuing to grow.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also says that some medical staff cannot get to work because of the fighting.
One big hospital visited by Red Cross personnel had neither water nor power, with some operating theatres out of action.
It said water supplies for Baghdad were becoming a major cause of concern, with a major pumping station not functioning.
President's situation
There is continuing uncertainty among US and British officials over whether the Iraqi President was hit in a targetted air strike on a Baghdad suburb on Monday.
British security sources say they believe Saddam Hussein escaped the attack by several minutes.
Earlier, US officials said forensic scientists might be needed to establish whether he was among those killed in the bombing.
