BAGHDAD,
April 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - After a blistering
three-week of U.S.-led aggression on Iraq and as a sign that the Iraqi
regime would soon be history, U.S. tanks and troops poured into the
heart of Baghdad Wednesday, April 9, amid scenes of jubilation from the
Iraqis.
Marines
sent a towering bronze statue of Saddam Hussein crashing to the ground
amid loud cheers from a handful of Iraqis on a central Baghdad square,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Provoking
Arab sentiments, they slung a thick rope noose around the Iraqi
leader’s neck and controversially briefly draped the Stars and Stripes
(the American flag) over his head in what is seen as a new era of
colonialism is taking over.
After
fruitless efforts by Iraqis it took the marines and a tank recovery
vehicle with a crane to secure a chain round the statue's neck and back
up to pull it over.
The
statue was demolished after U.S. tanks rumbled on to al-Fardus
(Paradise) square in late afternoon and dozens of people quickly
gathered to watch and warmly welcome the troops.
U.S.
forces met little Iraqi resistance as they took over swathes of the
city, with looting erupting as it became clear that Saddam's 24-year
stranglehold on the Iraqi people was disintegrating.
U.S.
tank fire and artillery pounded the area, as automatic weapons crackled,
with U.S. forces trying to crush resistance from the Iraqi position
blocking the eastern exit of the bridge.
To
the north of Baghdad, warplanes struck Iraqi positions around Saddam's
home town of Tikrit, a potent symbol of his rule.
Earlier
in the day, opposition Shiite sources told IslamOnline.net that Saddam
and his top aides escaped to Tikrit two days ago after the capture of
Saddam’s international airport.
In
the meantime, Russia on Wednesday denied reports that it was sheltering
missing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in its embassy in Baghdad.
"This
type of claim absolutely does not and cannot correspond with
reality," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko
said in a statement.
"This
is just another attempt to put our Baghdad embassy under threat,"
he said.
The
speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri suggested earlier
Wednesday that Saddam could have found refuge in Russia's Baghdad
embassy.
