Doha, Qatar ? Saddam Hussein resurfaced Friday in image and in voice, waving to enthusiastic crowds on a video reportedly shot as American forces overran Baghdad and addressing his people in a tape recording that crackled with quiet defiance.

The electronic appearances deepened the mystery surrounding the fate of the elusive Iraqi president, who was believed to be either dead, in hiding or on the run.

The recordings were broadcast by Abu Dhabi television, which said it was told both were made April 9. That was two days after a U.S. bombing aimed at Saddam — and the very day a towering bronze statue of him tumbled down in what instantly became an iconic image of the war.

“Your leadership is not shaken,” Saddam said in the speech. “Not now, not in the future, just as it has always been.”

Abu Dhabi TV refused to say where it obtained the tapes, and U.S. Central Command in Doha said it was studying them. Saddam has long been suspected of deploying doubles to dupe potential assassins.

The date, too, was uncertain; the video bore no visible time stamp, and U.S. officials have suggested that Saddam had prerecorded material to air during the war.

“We don’t know if he’s dead or alive,” said Claire Buchan, a White House spokeswoman. Two administration officials cast doubt on the authenticity of Abu Dhabi TV’s exclusive.

The United States was still searching for Saddam inside Iraq, especially in Baghdad and his hometown of Tikrit. Resolving his fate — by capture or killing — would be a major step for American forces.

“If he is still alive, it’s a matter of days,” said Ensign David Luckett, a Central Command spokesman. “He is no longer in power, and that is quite obvious in the country of Iraq as the Iraqi people celebrate their freedom.”

In the footage, shot from a distance, Saddam — in black beret and olive uniform, with a thick golden chain around his neck — waded through the crowd. “With our blood and souls we redeem you, oh Saddam,” some cheered.

Hoisted by his guards, Saddam ascended the hood of a car and appeared pleased, exhausted and a bit embarrassed by the adulation. Some thrust AK-47 assault rifles into the air.