First blows have been struck in the first votes of the US presidential election

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has won the Iowa Republican caucuses saying:

"Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives,"

He took 28% of the Republican vote, beating his rival Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.

Votes in the Democratic race are still being counted, and some US media have declared it a dead-heat.

With 95% of results confirmed, Hillary Clinton clung to the narrowest of leads over Bernie Sanders and told supporters she was "breathing a sigh of relief".

The BBC have more here