The military convoy reached the roundabout of the square with a statue of Saddam Hussein standing in the middle at around 4:30 p.m.(1230 GMT).

They were greeted by cameras of dozens of reporters rather than guns as earlier speculated.

Meanwhile, US troops took control of a Baath Party militia training camp in western Baghdad, situated in the Zayune neighborhood two kilometers from the Tigris river.

US Marines also wrapped up fighting in Baghdad's eastern zone after snuffing out sporadic resistance. But US military officials said Iraqi snipers still pose some problems.

Amid signs of crumbling government rule, looters ransacked government buildings in the Iraqi capital Wednesday morning while many residents came out to cheer US troops.

Crowds of looters stormed various government buildings in the city center to steal everything from furniture to computers.

The government buildings plundered included the Olympic headquarters, the Oil Marketing Co., Trade Ministry and traffic police headquarters.

Most residents kept away from the streets as the rising sense of insecurity gripped the city with the rule of government collapsing, Xinhua reporter Jamal Ahmed said.

Many are worried that the anarchy could lead to a wave of revenge killings by feuding individuals in the absence of rule by any authorities, he added.

In the Saddam City in northeastern Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets to joyously cheer the heavily armed US Marines driving through.

Some took the chance to vent anger at the government by smashing a portrait of President Saddam Hussein, whose whereabouts remained unknown since Monday.

Iraq's official radio and television have fallen silent since Tuesday.

Nothing has been heard from Saddam since a US bomber on Monday struck the al-Mansur residential neighborhood believed to be frequented by the Iraqi leader and his two sons.

At the war headquarters of the US Central Command in Doha, Qatar, US army spokesman Mark Kitchens said he was "heartened to see citizens of Baghdad are taking to the streets to celebrate their freedom."

US troops are making steady advance in Baghdad Wednesday after the calmest night since the war began on March 20.

Only sporadic shelling and gunfire rang out after the daybreak as more US troops moved in Baghdad to expand their control of the city of 5 million people.

US tanks and armored personnel carriers moved block by block through the urban sprawl of neighborhoods, squeezing out pockets of Iraqi resistance on their way.

(Xinhua News Agency, April 9, 2003)