A mother taken from a polygamist sect in Texas and being held as a minor in state custody has given birth to a baby boy who was immediately taken into protective custody.

More than half the teenage girls taken from a polygamist compound in west Texas have children or are pregnant, state authorities said today.

Police wore body armour, sported automatic weapons and were backed by an armoured personnel carrier for a raid on a West Texas polygamist retreat, photos and video show.