Soldiers from the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment stopped the Mercedes-Benz truck and its two occupants yesterday in Al Qaim, finding the 18 kilogram bars, which measured 10 centimetres by 13 centimetres by 25 centimetres. "The occupants told the soldiers that they had been paid a total of 350,000 dinars ($534) to pick up the truck in Baghdad and drive it to an unnamed individual in Al Qaim," the US Central Command said in a statement. News of the find came as senior US military sources insisted there would be no special deals with Uday Hussein, playboy son of ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam.



"His surrender will have to be unconditional," said a senior commander, commenting on reports in The Wall Street Journal that negotiations were already under way with Saddam's eldest son. Uday would be expected to face human rights charges, and any deal which meant he did not would come under fierce attack.

Meanwhile, the occupants of the truck, who were not identified, said they had been told the bars were bronze, but authorities believe the bars are made of gold and are having them tested. The command said the men, the truck and the apparent gold hoard was being held by the regiment. Al Qaim, a town on the Euphrates across the border from Syria, has been a key transit point for fleeing members of the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi central bank and other banks were looted by the regime before the war and were ransacked again in the chaos that followed the fall of the Iraqi capital. But how much was taken when the banks were emptied and how much in other ill-gotten gains was squirrelled away during Saddam's rule is unknown.

US authorities estimate Saddam and his family made off with $US900 million ($1.37 billion) from the central bank before the war. Saddam's son Qusay was reported to have sent three tractor trailers to the central bank to clean it out shortly before the war. US forces have recovered about $700 million in US currency and $US90 million in euros, which US authorities believe came from the central bank.

Another $400 million in US currency was believed to have been looted from other Iraqi banks. Once across the border in Syria, hard-to-trace gold could quickly disappear into the international market. The cash generated by the sales could then buy protection for former regime members or finance those left behind in Iraq.

Saddam, Qusay and Uday remain unaccounted for 43 days after US forces captured Baghdad. But nearly half of the 55 Iraqis on a US most wanted list have been captured or have surrendered, and those at large increasingly appear to be running out of options. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday Uday Hussein was putting out surrender feelers from his hideout in a Baghdad suburb but had been put off by a tough US negotiating stance.

Fearful of being killed if found by Iraqis, Uday "doesn't have good choices", a source familiar with the discussions was quoted as saying. Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish leader, has offered to let Saddam's wife and daughter live under his protection in the north.