No US troops seen in tour of Baghdad

No US troops were visible in a tour of central and southern Baghdad on Saturday despite US reports that their forces had pushed into the heart of the capital.

No US troops were visible in a tour of central and southern Baghdad on Saturday despite US reports that their forces had pushed into the heart of the capital, a witness said.

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"I went to the southern outskirts, south east, south west, the presidential palaces, the main security buildings," correspondent Khaled Yacoub Oweis said after driving around the city. "I saw no American troops."

He said that Iraqi soldiers and paramilitaries were preparing for war in the capital and that heavy artillery fire could be heard.

Earlier, a US military spokesman said their forces had thrust into the heart of Baghdad and said the push was "more than a patrol that goes in and comes back out".