The US-led administration said the mechanisms that supported Saddam Hussein’s regime were dissolved and a new defense force will be established to replace them. It also ended conscription and fired all employees of the armed forces, Republican Guard and the Defense Ministry.

“The Coalition Provisional Authority plans to create, in the near future, a new Iraqi corps. This is the first step in forming a national self-defense capability for a free Iraq,” said the statement released by the administration.

It did not say when the force would be formed but emphasized it would include all Iraqis. The decision officially wipes away the once-forbidding military that fought an eight-year war against Iran and tried unsuccessfully to prevent America from unseating Saddam’s government.

A US military chief said he knew of no negotiations to secure the surrender of Saddam’s eldest son, Uday. A Wall Street Journal report yesterday said Uday was considering surrendering.

“Nobody’s brought an offer from Uday to me, and I would facilitate his comin’ on in. But it would be unconditional,” Lt. Gen. David McKiernan said in Baghdad.

American troops on Thursday stopped a truck carrying some 2,000 bars they believe may be gold worth up to $500 million at a checkpoint near Al-Qaim, near Iraq’s border with Syria, the US Central Command said. The bars were confiscated and still must be tested to determine if they are gold. Two people were taken into custody, but their identities, nationality or where they got the bars were unclear.

The announcement of the Iraqi Army’s dissolution follows a May 16 decree by top US commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, abolishing Saddam’s Baath Party and subsequent announcements by coalition forces ordering the dismissal of party officials from the civil service and telling Baath members to report to the US military.

Setting up a new defense and security structure, along with disarming Iraqis of thousands of light weapons, should contribute to restoring a sense of order in lawless Iraq, riven by looting and ethnic and religious tension.

UN humanitarian aid agencies demanded the speedy restoration of security and basic services shortly after the Security Council gave the US and Britain a mandate to govern Iraq and use its oil wealth to rebuild.

One aid batch flew into Baghdad yesterday from Jordan after commercial flights to the Iraqi capital resumed. The Royal Jordanian cargo plane was the first commercial flight since the war began March 20. A spokesman said the airline plans to start carrying passengers as soon as Baghdad airport, controlled by US soldiers, can check tickets and stamp passports.

On Thursday, the World Food Program inaugurated its own services by flying 60 UN staff into the northern city of Irbil.