Iowa caucus: Results delayed by 'inconsistencies'

Results from Iowa's caucuses, the first vote in the race to pick a Democratic candidate to face President Donald Trump, have been plunged into chaos by apparent technology issues, BBC reports.

The state's Democratic party said it had found "inconsistencies".

But it insisted the unprecedented holdup was a "reporting issue", not a "hack or an intrusion".

Voters flocked to over 1,600 schools, libraries and churches across 99 counties on Monday.

In the absence of official results, the candidates are starting to put out their own versions of events.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders claimed victory, citing internal campaign data that placed him ahead of Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Meanwhile, Mr Buttigieg is quoted as saying that "by all indications" his campaign is "going to New Hampshire victorious". He is referring to America's first primary in the US state on 11 February.