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Kurdish fighters and U.S. Special Forces take control of a key mountaintop overlooking the Iraqi-held city of Mosul, a senior Kurdish official says. He says it is the most important gain in the region thus far, and has opened the way for troops to enter Mosul. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

Scientists in Hong Kong studying severe acute respiratory syndrome say the flu-like illness may be caused by a previously unknown form of the coronavirus, which also causes the common cold. In a study published in Lancet, researchers say 45 out of 50 people with SARS, which has killed more than 100 people worldwide, have the virus in their blood. Hear NPR's John McChesney.

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with CNN reporter Diana Muriel in Basra about the problem of keeping the peace there. British forces took the city on Monday, and now residents are angry that forces there have failed to halt widespread looting and lawlessness.

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with NPR's John Burnett, traveling with the U.S. Marines. He reports they moved with relative ease throughout the eastern half of Baghdad.

Now that the Iraqi regime has been toppled, the U.S. faces the task of rebuilding the country, physically and politically. NPR's Melissa Block talks about the challenges of administering a postwar country with Ambassador James Dobbins, the Bush administration's special envoy to Afghanistan, and a consultant for the United States in Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti and Somalia.

U.S. special forces troops and Kurdish fighters enter Mosul after the Iraqi army abandons the northern city. Widespread looting and celebrations are now under way. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

Now that Baghdad has fallen and southern Iraq is largely under the control of U.S. and British forces, attention is turning to the northern part of the country where the key city of Kirkuk fell today. Some analysts believe the next big battle for US led forces will be Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. NPR's Tom Gjelten analyzes the military options.

Two new scientific papers are at odds over the question of whether it's currently possible to clone humans. One study suggests it's impossible with current methods. But earlier this week, a fertility doctor in Kentucky reported that he had successfully created a very early human embryo clone. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

U.S. officials say Saddam Hussein's regime appears to have lost hold of Baghdad, though some fighting continues. Security forces and government officials have disappeared, replaced by looters, and a crowd of Iraqi citizens, with th help of a U.S. Marine vehicle, topples a 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks says the regime "is in disarray and much of Iraq is free from years of oppression." Hear NPR News.

U.S. Marines will begin enforcing a dusk-to-dawn curfew in eastern Baghdad starting Friday. It's an attempt to control widespread looting in a city lacking all signs of Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.