"This is an historic moment, the wall of Baghdad has fallen," Aznar told a joint press conference with Argentine president Eduardo Duhalde.

"I want to extend my congratulations to the people of Baghdad who were able to liberate themselves from this tyranny and also my recognition for the coalition forces which made this new situation possible," Aznar said.

The Spanish prime minister, one of the prime backers over vociferous popular opposition of the US-led war against Iraq, said that in three weeks the military campaign was able to "obtain the near total collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein."

"Saddam Hussein tried until the very last to repeat in Baghdad what Hitler tried to do in Berlin in 1945, to barricade his people within the capital. In the end, thankfully, this became like the Berlin of 1989, the wall of Baghdad fell like the Berlin Wall."

The prime minister however said it was not yet time to "ring the bells" of victory because there were still isolated pockets of resistance in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, and the real work of rebuilding the country had yet to begin.

SPACE.WIRE