US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has claimed that Saddam Hussein has lost control of most of Iraq.
However, Iraq's Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, insisted the Americans had been repulsed, taking many casualties.
US tanks and armoured vehicles encountered sporadic resistance yesterday when they pushed into the centre of Baghdad.
US troops are reported to have occupied one of the two palaces of Saddam Hussein which they seized earlier.
The US military are claiming to control most access routes into the city.
Tests continue on chemical find
Elsewhere in Iraq, US defence officials say that initial field tests on a number of chemicals found near the city of Karbala suggest the possible presence of the nerve agents sarin and tabun, as well as mustard gas.
14 killed by missile: report
At least 14 people are reported to have died when a missile believed to be from a US plane crashed into a residential neighbourhood in central Baghdad.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that its officials witnessed awful conditions in hospitals in the city which are running short of drugs and anaesthetics.
