It was the first time a television channel claimed to have footage of the ousted Iraqi leader showing him to have survived a massive US bombing of a Baghdad building he was supposed to have entered two days before the capital's fall.

The footage also brought to mind similar videotapes, mostly aired by Qatar's Al-Jazeera satellite TV, purporting to show suspected terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, whose whereabouts have been unknown since the United States launched a military campaign in Afghanistan in October 2001.

The White House said later Friday the footage did not shed light on Saddam's fate.

"We don't know what Saddam Hussein's status is," spokeswoman Claire Buchan said.

"What we do know for certain is Saddam Hussein is not in control in Iraq."

In the footage, which Abu Dhabi TV said was supposed to have been aired by Iraqi television, the deposed leader, accompanied by son Qussay, was carried shoulder-high by supporters chanting, "With our blood, with our soul, we will redeem you Saddam."

Abu Dhabi TV then aired a picture of Saddam and an audiotape purporting to be of his last speech in which he voiced confidence in "victory" over invading US forces and told the Iraqis that their "leadership is steadfast."

It said the speech was also recorded on April 9 but not broadcast.

Saddam was seen cheered by supporters brandishing rifles in al-Azamiyah neighborhood, allegedly on the day US forces swept into Baghdad and put an abrupt end to his 24-year rule.

Several fans jumped to kiss the Iraqi leader, clad in an olive green military uniform and flanked by his personal secretary Abed Hamoud.

The television's correspondent in Baghdad said the footage gave credence to rumors that Saddam was seen praying at a mosque in al-Azamiyah that same day.

Abu Dhabi TV said the footage of Saddam had been prepared by Iraqi TV, possibly a hint that it obtained the video from television officials.

Its correspondent did not shed further light on his "confidential" sources, but Abu Dhabi TV director Ali al-Ahmad told AFP the video was obtained from a "credible source" in Baghdad earlier Friday.

"If you ask about your leadership, it is steadfast, unshaken by anything that might shake the weak," Saddam was heard saying in his address to the "great" Iraqi people, supposedly recorded on the day government forces vanished and US forces took over Baghdad.

"No matter how long the invasion and occupation last, the owners of the house (the Iraqi people) are bound to achieve victory over their invading enemies, the enemies of God ...

"Irrespective of the occupiers' tyranny ... this is the correct historical reading of any occupation and aggression," he said.

"We are confident of ultimate victory," Saddam said.

However, "patience is needed to (surmount) hardships." And, he warned Iraqis, "beware of being caught by surprise, which would lead to regrets or ... a feeling of impotence ... Do not decide your actions on the basis of what the aggressors say or what the evil people propagate in secret or in public."

Saddam's whereabouts have been a mystery since US forces took control of the Iraqi capital, and he had not been seen or heard from since the US bombing of a building he was alleged to have entered in Baghdad's al-Mansur district on April 7.

Saddam heads a list of 55 regime officials wanted by the United States.

SPACE.WIRE