Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's fate remains unknown as jubilant Iraqis and US marines tore down a metal statue of the president in the heart of Baghdad yesterday, bringing his 24-year iron-fisted rule to an end.

After a US armoured vehicle pulled the statue down, cheering crowds of Iraqis danced with joy while stomping o­n its broken head and limbs, an incident televised live worldwide.

"The game is over," the regime's ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Mohammed Aldouri, told CNN . "I hope that peace will prevail".