Saddam Loses Baghdad

Iraqis climb a 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square, tying ropes to it in an attempt to pull it down, April 9, 2003.

Iraqi men whack away at the statue's 25-foot-tall cylindrical pedestal with a sledgehammer passed from hand to hand, April 9, 2003.

A military vehicle pulls up to the base of the statue, April 9, 2003.

U.S. troops drape an American flag on the statue's head, April 9, 2003. The flag was up for only a brief period; at one point, an Iraqi flag was hung under its neck.

U.S. Marines chained a large winch to the statue and slowly backed up a large military vehicle to pull it down, April 9, 2003.

The hollow statue's legs are snapped, and most of it tilts down and hangs off its large pedestal, April 9, 2003.

Iraqis dance atop the fallen statue of Saddam Hussein, April 9, 2003. As it fell, some threw shoes and slippers at the statue - a gross insult in the Arab world.

The statue's head is dragged through Baghdad's streets with a noose wrapped around its neck, April 9, 2003.

An Iraqi man holds up a sign heralding the end of Saddam's rule over Baghdad, April 9, 2003. U.S. commanders declared that the Iraqi leader had lost control of the capital city.

An Iraqi youth throws a stone at a portrait of Saddam Hussein as an Iraqi man walks with two briefcases during looting of government buildings in Baghdad, April 9, 2003.

A portrait of Saddam Hussein hangs on the burning Ministry of Transport and Communication building in Baghdad, April 9, 2003.

U.S. Army Spc. John Dresel from Oxford, Conn., is kissed by an Iraqi child in Baghdad, April 9, 2003. The soldiers from the A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, took over a section of northern Baghdad with a warm welcome from many residents, but under sporadic rocket and small-arms fire.

Iraqis show their new possessions acquired during rampant looting in Baghdad, April 9, 2003. Unhindered by any police presence, some residents made off with computers, furniture, telephones, even military jeeps.

Jubilant crowds swarm Baghdad's streets April 9, 2003. U.S. Marine tanks, rolling into the city's commercial center, were greeted by people cheering and waving white flags.

U.S. Marines, foreground, watch Iraqi civilians looting a government warehouse as they guard their camp on a main road leading into Baghdad, April 9, 2003.