In a small suburb of Basra, Iraq's second city which has been largely under British control since Monday, locals crowded into a shop with a television set to watch as Iraqis, helped by US marines, tore down a statue of Saddam in central Baghdad.

After initial reactions of sheer disbelief, timid smiles spread through the crowd, then a rush of euphoria raced around the room as it became clear that the regime was on its knees.

"It's hard for me to believe that it is all over. We had dreamed of this so many times and for so long!" said Ahmed, a shop-owner from Basra, as he watched the images broadcast on Kuwaiti television.

But around the country, as it became clear that the regime was finished, celebration was mixed with fear about the country's future.

Further north, in the achingly poor central Iraqi desert, the inhabitants of the tiny village of Hatma filled the street as a column of coalition tanks, armoured cars and press vehicles passed through on its way further north.

"Thank you for everything but do not change one dictator for another. We want true democracy in Iraq," read the signs held up for the occupying forces to see.

As the convoy crossed the river Euphrates and drew nearer to Baghdad, a group of burnt-out Iraqi tanks lay blocking the road, forcing the convoy to cut a path through the surrounding fields.

Baghdad meanhwile descended into chaos on Thursday with ministries ablaze and looters rampaging through the city, a day after after US tanks poured into the city and the regime gave way.

Scenes of fighting broke the calm that had reigned over the capital since US troops poured in to scenes of jubilation, three weeks after the launch of the war.

Every so often a car sped past, heading in the opposite direction, away from the capital, as families left with their entire belongings, or their spoils from the looting.

On the city's southern outskirts, scenes of plunder were everywhere, with US forces attempting to keep a lid on the situation.

"They haven't stopped robbing like crazy in the last few hours," said US Sergeant Fritz, charged with guarding a warehouse in a suburb south of Baghdad.

The troops had been shooting rounds into the air all day Thursday to keep off looters besieging them from all sides, trying to get into the storeroom.

"But even when we catch them red-handed, they come up to us all smiles and thanks," said the sergeant.

Security was extra tight at the checkpoint south of Baghdad, after the first suicide bombing since the fall of the regime left one US soldier dead in the north of the city.

Twenty armed soldiers searched each vehicle heading into the city, checking and cross-checking each passenger's identity and turning many away.

Suicide attacks by last-ditch supporters of the regime are the worst fear for these troops, many of them under 20 years of age.

"May God get them out of this hell alive," said one woman, pointing at the city before turning back to help drag along a huge electric generator, looted from a warehouse nearby.

SPACE.WIRE