A dozen looters helped themselves undisturbed in ground floor rooms at the National Museum of Iraq, where pottery artefacts and statues were seen broken or overturned and administrative offices were wrecked.

Two men were seen hauling an ancient portal out of the building, and empty wooden crates were scattered over the floor. Other items yanked from the walls were lying on the ground.

Upstairs rooms seemed to have been spared for the time being, however.

The museum housed a major collection of antiquities, including a 4,000-year-old silver harp from Ur.

Iraq, among the earliest cradles of civilization and home to the remains of such ancient Mesopotamian cities as Babylon, Ur and Nineveh, has one of the richest archaeological heritages in the world.

International cultural organizations had urged that the heritage of Iraq, which boasts more than 10,000 archeological sites, be spared ahead of the US-led war launched March 20.

While certain rooms of the museum were nearly emptied, there were also no items behind display cases, indicating that certain pieces had been stashed away before the war. Sandbags were positioned on the ground to protect the artifacts in case of a fall.

Large items difficult to carry remained in place, including three tombstones bearing Kufi calligraphy.

While some witnesses said the looters ran off with the museum artifacts, others said US forces had helped take items away before they entered the heart of the city on Wednesday.

"The looters didn't reach the main rooms, which are upstairs," said witness Hussam Zuheiri.

Meanwhile Baghdad's two most prestigious hotels, the Rashid and the Mansur, were both in flames.

At the Rashid, long the destination for visiting dignitaries to Baghdad, looters climbed over the railings and hauled out furniture, carpets and television sets to some 15 vehicles waiting in the parking lot.

With the collapse of Saddam's 24-year authoritarian regime, Baghdad has plunged into anarchy, with no police force to speak of. Residents complain that US troops are either unwilling or unable to prevent the widespread looting.

"Of course we miss Saddam Hussein now," said Kazem al-Fartisi, 52, who owns several electronics and clothing stores in the al-Arabi market area which was torched Thursday.

"Under him this would never have happened. The police would have stopped the thieves. The Americans are only here to occupy us and drive us into ruin," he said.

US forces have said they are still bringing order to Baghdad and have put a first priority on securing civilian infrastructure.

At least 25 people were injured in the rampages Friday. The front windows of some 200 downtown stores were shattered, with everything from loose paper to shoes littering the outside sidewalks.

In Al-Rasafi market, merchant Mohammed al-Shamai fired his pistol in the air as he saw a band of young looters nearing his seven-storey garment store.

"We want law and order and we want the Americans to protect our stores," said Shamai, who complained that 50,000 dollars worth of his merchandise had already been spirited away.

"If the Americans don't defend us then we'll defend ourselves with our own weapons," added merchant Khazen Hussein.

Young people were also seen with iron bars running after potential thieves.

Almost everything has been considered fair game, from the luxury homes of senior regime figures to European diplomatic missions and even hospitals.

"If the Americans don't do anything, we'll fight against them," said Hazem Shami. "Why don't they force the police to come back to work?"

He said that while in the countryside tribes had organized ways to keep order, "here there's nothing, so we will defend ourselves."

SPACE.WIRE