Iraqis went on looting rampages, as vestiges of President Saddam Hussein's authority seemed to be disappearing. As U.S. forces moved through one neighborhood after another, crowds of Baghdad residents seized the chance to plunder military installations and government buildings, making off with computers, bookshelves, tables, even Iraqi jeeps. Among the buildings plundered were Iraq's Olympic headquarters and traffic police headquarters.

On Palestine Street, where the Baath party as recently as a few weeks back held rallies and shows of force, gangs of youths and even middle-aged men looted the warehouses of the Trade Ministry, coming out with air conditioners, ceiling fans, refrigerators and TV sets.

Dramatic scenes were caught on TV Cameras in Saddam City, a poor neighborhood in northeast Baghdad.

Overnight, only a few explosions shattered the quiet of a city mostly shrouded in darkness because of a power outage now almost a week old. Explosions, tank shelling and gunfire rang out after daybreak in what was described as only sporadic resistance to U.S. forces trying to expand areas of the capital under their control.

The Arab language satellite TV station Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. reported from Baghdad that there was no sign of Iraqi government or military presence in the city.

LBC's correspondent Sultan Suleiman said neither Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf not any other Iraqi officials had shown up at the Palestine Hotel where hundreds of journalists are staying.

Suleiman said he toured Baghdad on Wednesday without being escorted by any Iraqi information ministry official. He reported looting of some government buildings in the capital.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Iraqi man and his son loot a government warehouse on a main road leading into Baghdad on the southeastern suburb of the Iraqi capital, Wednesday, April 9, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)