Renewed Baghdad fighting breaks out

There have also been reports of renewed fighting in Baghdad, close to the Palestine Hotel where many foreign journalists are staying.

Military officials said US marines exchanged heavy fire with Iraqis who fired on them from the area of Saddam Hussein's presidential compound in central Baghdad.

Earlier, it was reported that US marines had taken control of the eastern Iraqi town of Kut, potentially opening up a new supply route to Baghdad from the south.

A BBC correspondent said exits to the north and west were sealed off, leaving only the route up from the southeast.

Attempts to restore order

Meanwhile, US and British troops have been attempting to restore order to Iraqi cities as people continue to rampage through ministries, schools and shops.

In some neighbourhoods, locals have formed armed vigilante groups to protect their property.

The Iraqi capital is in the grip of civil disorder three days after US troops seized control, with widespread looting of shops, homes and even hospitals.

American forces say they plan to introduce a nightime curfew in Baghdad in an effort to stem the civil disorder and looting in the city.

Hundreds of Iraqi police officers have been reporting to US forces in Baghdad in response to a US appeal for help to restore order in the capital.

The Iraqi officers are reported to have converged on the Palestine Hotel where US officers and journalists are housed, after foreign radio stations broadcast a call for qualified people to come forward.

Among them were a first group of seven Iraqi police officers led by a senior officer.

Colonel Ahmad Abdelrazzak Said wore his uniform and was accompanied by six other officers in civilian dress. US Marines searched him at the entrance where he told reporters he had come with colleagues to help end the looting.

Latest reports say violence is now crossing the religious divide, with Shia Muslims fighting gun battles with their Sunni neighbours throughout the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

At Central Command in Qatar, US Brigagier General Vincent Brooks has said that even if US forces take Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, it may not be the end of the war.

Reports of surrender

Meanwhile, there are reports that a senior scientific adviser to Saddam Hussein has surrendered to US forces.

General Amer Hammoudi al-Saadi, who denounced weapons inspections before war broke out, gave himself up to American soldiers in Baghdad.

His surrender would be the first from the group of 55 top Iraqi officials the United States wants pursued, killed or captured.

UN staff to return to Iraq on Monday

The United Nations has announced that its staff will return to Iraq on Monday.

A UN humanitarian co-ordinator said more teams of international workers would follow.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that the medical system in the capital has all but collapsed due to the looting.

Doctors and nurses have reportedly taken up arms to protect themselves.

The organisation has stressed that the Iraqi capital is at high risk of disease as the dead are left unattended and as temperatures continue rise.

This morning, looters stripped Baghdad's antiquities museum, walking off with treasures dating back thousands of years to civilisation in Mesopotamia.

The US State Department said 1,200 police and judicial experts would soon be sent to Iraq to advise on how to set up a new police force.

UK forces kill five in Basra

Elsewhere some Iraqi police officers are returning to work in the southern city of Basra where there has also been widespread looting.

They will be working with British forces. A British military spokesman, Group Captain Al Lockwood said there were signs that life in the city was returning to normal.

However UK forces shot and killed five people in Basra who were attempting to rob a bank. There are reports that the UK patrol initially thought the bank robbers were looters but that the soldiers were then shot at.

Last night, American forces declared an overnight curfew in the northern city of Mosul, which fell to Kurdish fighters backed by the US.

The curfew was imposed after crowds went on the rampage, stripping public buildings and schools, and setting fire to a central market. The central bank was raided and people grabbed handfuls of banknotes which were scattered on the streets.

In Tikrit, US forces are continuing to target suspected Republican Guard positions north of Baghdad.

Meanwhile, preparations are under way to hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the future of the country. It will convene in the Iraqi city of Nassiriya and will be chaired by the US.