Celebrations spread to northern Iraq

Kurds in the northern town of Arbil have gathered to cheer and wave, holding aloft pictures of their Kurdish leader, as scenes of defiance spread throughout Iraq.

Images of Saddam were less welcome and a group of young Kurds were shown using a lighter to torch a piece of paper showing his photograph.

ITV’s Julian Manyon, in Kurdistan, said any news that Saddam’s regime may be tottering was “enormously welcomed” by the local population.

“There is, I understand, tremendous rejoicing in Arbil as news comes through of what appears to be the collapse of the regime in Baghdad,” he said

Manyon said that in his hotel local people had been glued to a large TV screen, watching developments closely almost 24 hours a day.