On the town's main square, beneath a statue of Saddam on a horse, seven armored vehicles from the 1st marine reconnaissance battalion are posted under the orders of Lieutenant Mat Peterson, who says the roughly 900 Americans now in Tikrit came "to help these people".

All the men say they are here on a peace mission, seemingly unaware of the symbolic value of their advance.

With US-led troops in control of Saddam's tribal stronghold, "decisive" military action is coming to a close in Iraq, the US Central Command said at its forward headquarters in Qatar.

But these marines did not enjoy the same welcome here as in Baghdad last week, where Iraqis lined the streets to watch US tanks roll past, flashing V-for-victory signs and giving the thumbs-up to troops they had been warned to fear.

"Unfortunately we have no translator," Lieutenant Peterson said, and Tikrit residents either remained or were kept at a distance.

"We cut the road because fighting is still going on further south," the marine officer explained. "It separates them from their lives but it's better than getting shot."

In other parts of Iraq, US troops wary of suicide bombers have fired on approaching cars when they failed to slow down, sometimes killing their drivers.

Two Iraqis wearing white lab coats approach the marine's checkpoint here, getting the same warning as the mother before them.

But even without an interpreter it is understood they were doctors and the pair get passes to a nearby hospital.

Their path takes them along a long line of US armored vehicles waiting to enter Tikrit without fanfare.

On one side, marines keep an eye on what used to be the headquarters for Saddam's Fedayeen militia while others nap next to vehicles guarding the entrance to one of Saddam's many palaces.

From afar, the palace seems intact at the end of a long driveway lined with palm trees and flowers.

Up close it appears to have been turned almost inside out, with woodwork and marble shattered and sweeping staircases stripped away.

Its view of the Tigris river is unscathed.

In the distance, intermittant explosions can be heard and helicopter gunships keep a low-level watch over the city.

The palace has escaped the looting common in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities such as Kirkuk and Basra, and fake-gold plumbing fixtures remain in bathrooms that seem to have never been used.

In Tikrit, neither the residents nor the US troops have demolished statues of Saddam or riddled his ubiquitous portraits with automatic gunfire.

He raises his fist to chase away enemies and smiles at passers-by from pedestals and posters throughout the city.

Horse-mounted statues flank the entrance to Saddam's palace. He is everywhere and nowhere, and Tikrit residents say they haven't seen him since the war began.

SPACE.WIRE