The headline appeared on the front page of Ath-Thawra newspaper, mouthpiece of the Baath Party under which Saddam Hussein ruled the country with an iron fist for the past 24 years.

"Our people will not be fooled by the lies of the media," screamed the second half of the headline, in reference to continued news from abroad of a US troop advance in Iraq.

"With the determination of the men and the unity of the people of our nation, and under our fighting leader Saddam Hussein, this ordeal will be over," read another Ath-Thawra headline.

Many residents rushed out Wednesday to buy souvenir copies of the four official newspapers. An official from one of the dailies told AFP that Wednesday's copies were "the last ones."

When the newspapers hit the stand, US ground troops were rolling from different directions to the heart of the capital, met not with resistance but cheers of jubilation.

The publication of the newspapers were among the only signs of the regime Wednesday. Saddam Hussein himself has not been seen since a massive US air strike Monday on a building he was said to have been in.

The lack of state authority on the streets has triggered widespread looting across the capital.

The front-page editorial of Babel, run by Saddam's flamboyant eldest son Uday, promised: "The great Iraq will remain steadfast."

"Under the fighting leader Saddam Hussein, may God lead him to victory, the believing people of Iraq will continue their heroic resistance against the invaders," insisted a headline in Al-Qadissiya, another official daily.

Like any regular day, all the newspapers printed old pictures of Saddam Hussein on their front pages as well as parts of his speeches.

Al-Jumhuriya had him standing in an elegant suit behind flowers while Al-Qadissiya, once an army paper, showed him in military clothes in front of an Iraqi flag.

SPACE.WIRE