Sky News showed several US soldiers strolling through the compound's grounds on the banks of the Tigris river compound. Others were shown relaxing, bare-headed, some of them lying down on the lawn, breathing in the scent of flowers.

One shot showed an ornate bathroom with gold-plated taps, a finely-worked ceiling, blue stained-glass windows, decorated with intricate calligraphic motifs, and an elaborately carved door.

Other footage showed the compound's entrance from above, with a monumental spiral staircase. A soldier was seen walking between two huge pillars under a chandelier as he left the compound.

Sky News correspondent Colin Brazier, who visited the palace, told viewers it was "absolutely staggering", as "opulent as you could possibly imagine".

"Inside, it is difficult to give a real sense of the opulence there on show... but I can tell you it is quite a scene," he said.

Brazier described "Italian marble-clad everywhere, gold gilded chaises longues, huge vaulted ceilings".

But he said the palace was sparcely furnished and seemed to have stood uninhabited for some time.

The report said the palace also appeared to have been hit by a bomb, judging by a "huge, gaping hole" at the back of the building.

Brazier said that US troops who stormed the palace met with minimal resistance from seven soldiers, two of whom were killed while four others fled.

The seventh man, found hiding inside a refrigerator, said they were all Syrian nationals.

The US 3rd Infantry Division said on Monday its troops had "secured the main presidential palace" as well as a second palace inside Baghdad and a third one near the airport.

British forces meanwhile claimed to have taken Saddam Hussein's palace in Basra, the largest city in southern Iraq, without meeting much resistance.

SPACE.WIRE