Ted Cruz beats Trump in Iowa

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has won the Iowa Republican caucuses, the first vote of the US 2016 presidential election, reports BBC.

"Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives," he declared, to great applause, as he railed against Washington, lobbyists and the media.

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

Votes in the Democratic race are still being counted, and suggest a tight race between the two leading candidates.

With 85% of results in, frontrunner Hillary Clinton and self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, a 74-year-old senator from Vermont, are less than 1% apart.

Ms Clinton addressed her supporters but did not explicitly declare victory, choosing instead to say that she was "breathing a sigh of relief".

No such ambiguity from Republican victor Mr Cruz, whose triumph was reward for the months he spent criss-crossing the state to woo its influential conservative and evangelical leaders.

As country music blared across the loud speaker, the 45-year-old senator relished his victory, taking his time to come to the stage in Des Moines, hugging supporters, family and staff.

"Iowa has sent notice that the republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not be chosen by the Washington establishment," he said.

"Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across Iowa and all across this great nation."

Mr Trump congratulated the Texas senator and said he was "honoured" by the second-place finish.

Mr Rubio, who has struggled to gain traction in recent months, has performed far better than expected, and finished in third place - just one percentage point off of Mr Trump.

The Democratic race is proving to be a tough fight, with votes still be counted and less than 1% difference between Ms Clinton and Mr Sanders.

Sources close to Democrat Martin O'Malley, former Maryland governor, have told the BBC that he will suspend his campaign - narrowing the field to two competitive candidates.

On the Republican side, Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee tweeted that he too would suspend his campaign.