US troops called to assist replied that they had no orders to intervene.

Medical staff said they were powerless to stop the thieves following a breakdown of order since the regime disappeared Wednesday as US forces moved into central Baghdad.

However, two American troop transporters and a dozen men have been deployed outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Iraqi capital.

Red Cross delegates have been unable to visit the city's hospitals for the last 48 hours because of a lack of security, ICRC spokesman Roland Huguenin-Benjamin said.

SPACE.WIRE