Anarchy rules in Baghdad

Baghdad was today in a state of near anarchy, with American soldiers too fearful of suicide bombers to control the army of looters continuing to rampage through the city.

The death of three marines at the hands of a man who blew himself up at a checkpoint last night has raised tension to unbearable levels among US troops - with devastating consequences for the population.

Already there have been a number of tragic incidents in which innocent civilians have been gunned down by nervous soldiers.

A marine is reported to have killed three people, including a little girl, in a car that failed to stop in the Azamiyah district. He then shot and killed a man who walked onto his balcony to find out where the shooting was coming from.

Within minutes the same marine is understood to have shot dead the driver of another car. There had earlier been an intense gun battle in the area between US troops and Iraqi diehards.

A father, his teenage son and another male relative were shot and killed on Wednesday after failing to stop while passing a building occupied by marines. The men's family had no idea of their fate until the car containing the three bodies was towed to their home.

Further incidents appeared inevitable today with US troops on a state of high alert after the suicide bombing.

New orders were issued to deal with the threat, with the rules of engagement stating that soldiers can now shoot after giving only one warning.

The loss of the three marines at the roadblock on the outskirts of Saddam City - a poverty-stricken area to the north-east Baghdad - followed a day of looting in the capital's streets.

At a checkpoint in the centre of Baghdad today, near the Palestine Hotel, marines from the 3rd Battalion 4th Company reacted with anger at the loss of three of their colleagues, with a fourth injured.

"It's not playing by the rules and it puts us in a situation where we don't know who the enemy is," said Private First Class Gabriel Hernandez, from Texas. "The threat of being killed by a suicide bomber is uppermost in all our minds, especially after what happened last night."

Pte Hernandez, 19, manned a checkpoint at one of the main roads, Saadun Street, closed to all traffic overnight. The barrels of two Abrams tanks pointed down the road, both primed and ready to fire at anyone who disobeyed the rules. Looters are carting off anything they can grab from government offices, foreign embassies and bombed presidential palaces. But American troops are too concerned with protecting their own safety to intervene.

On the Hillah road the owner of a grain silo and his armed guard attempted to protect the city's supply from looters trying to steal his lorries, while 100 metres away eight soldiers from the US 3rd Infantry looked on.

The Unicef offices have been trashed, their files scattered and office equipment carted off, 220 metres from a US checkpoint.

In three days since Saddam and his government have vanished, the rule of law has disappeared and armed men have been seen on the streets, often leading large groups of the looters.

In one incident a truck loaded with chairs was seen driving away with two white hunting dogs belonging to Saddam's son Qusay tied to the side.

US soldiers are faced with a situation rapidly coming to resemble colonial battlegrounds of old. They are trapped between a hungry and desperate population and armed fighters for the old regime determined to resist their presence.

Lance Corporal Raymond Skeet from Fruitlin, New Mexico, said: "Of course we feel anger about what happened last night. "We have got to play by the normal rules of war.

"But the trouble is we don't know who the enemy is any more. These people are not playing by the rules. They wear civilian clothes and attack us from all sides, in cars packed with explosives, from sniping positions and hiding behind other civilians.

"Our senior officers sat down with us this morning about this and we have a full understanding of what we're to do."

Today, a series of checkpoints were set up with barbed wire strung across roads to prevent any vehicle reaching within 100 metres of the US troops.

Sergeant Ericson Ariaga, 25, from Bravo Company 1st Tank Group said: "We have snipers out further down the road, watching every vehicle that tries to enter this area.

"They tell us what they see and we require every vehicle to stop at the first wire for a visual search. If they do not stop there we give a warning rifle shot.

"There is a second set of barriers further down the road. If the person ignores the warning shot, they will be hit by the guys in the tanks, no further questions asked."

As Sgt Ariaga detailed the plans to ensure safety of the compound, a gunner sat at the top of the tank peering down the road. "I'm ready at all times," he said nonchalantly.

In a city where every house has a weapon and where massive amounts of unaccounted explosives exist, the rule of law is one where it is in the hands of the men who hold the guns - on both sides.