Armed gangs wreak havoc

GANGS of looters, many of them armed, roamed the streets of Baghdad yesterday, ransacking offices and government buildings as US troops looked on and breaking into the houses of Saddam Hussein’s top aides.

Looters drove tractors, pick-up trucks, trailers and even a large bus up to a large villa belonging to Tareq Aziz, Saddam's deputy prime minister.

They stole everything from furniture and paintings to chandeliers and curtains, and stripped the electrical wires from the villa's main switchboard.