Another Saddam image stamped out

The theme of the new stamps is ancient forms of transport

The face of the ousted president has disappeared from another facet of Iraqi life with the arrival of new stamps.

In its place, camels, horse-drawn carriages and rowing boats adorn the series.

Coalition officials say Iraq's postal service is one of the success stories of reconstruction, with workers doing whatever it took to get mail delivered.

International delivery will be tested straight away, with the posting of a letter to US President George W Bush - complete with a new stamp.

The designs for the new stamps were selected by members of the Iraqi Governing Council from images found in the post office archives, officials said.

The series has a theme of ancient transport. The 100-dinar stamp, for instance, shows a man in Arabic dress driving a horse-drawn carriage with another man in a Western-style suit.

Post-war challenges

Five million of the stamps will go on sale within days.

After Saddam Hussein's overthrow, most of the paper stamps with his image were destroyed and postal workers used rubber stamps instead to mark which letters and packages had been paid for.

Coalition officials say 80% of the 275 post offices in operation across Iraq before the invasion are now back up and running, with employees helping it to be one of the first institutions to return to near-normal service.

Iraqi Communications Minister Haydar al-Abadi highlighted post-war challenges.

"In the towns and cities, we have people delivering mail on foot, on bicycle," he said. "Nearly every one of our vehicles, most of our buildings, were ransacked and looted after the war. It has been a challenge."