Iraq said Saturday it had restored electricity to some provinces and would reopen schools in a week. It also claimed a moral victory in the gulf war.
It said it had discharged army conscripts born between 1953 and 1956 following "positive political developments."The official Iraqi News Agency said power was restored to some provinces Saturday. Supplies would be restored to all Baghdad in stages within seven days but only after dark.
The agency said President Saddam Hussein had ordered swift action to reconnect supplies.
Six weeks of allied bombing knocked out the national power grid, destroyed bridges, telecommunications centers and water supplies and smashed refineries and numerous other installations.
The official media denies allied reports that the Iraqi army was routed in the ground attack launched last Sunday. Baghdad says it taught the allies a "lesson they cannot forget."
Iraqi military commanders are to meet allied counterparts Sunday to discuss a formal cease-fire.
Baghdad Radio, announcing the discharge of some reservists, said Saddam signed the directive from the ruling Revolution Command Council (RCC).
Iraq had a prewar army of up to 1 million regulars or reservists. The Iraqi News Agency said later the defense ministry was considering discharging more conscripts.
Saturday's announcements seemed designed to suggest that life was starting to return to normal. Baghdad Radio said the RCC had banned firing in the air to celebrate the cease-fire after some people were accidentally wounded.
"Iraqis were happy over the cease-fire. . . . Celebrations were accompanied by shooting across Iraq, which is understandable, but it went beyond the limits," the RCC statement said.
"The proper authorities have been authorized to take strict measures against violators."
The government daily al-Jumhouriyah (Republic) said Iraq had foiled a main aim of the gulf war allies - a U.S.-Israeli plan to dismember the country.
"Iraq has confronted this horrifying American-Zionist plot. . . . We have safeguarded our country, its territorial integrity, and thus have aborted the main link in the chain of hostile objectives," it said in an editorial.
"We can take pride in that we prevented the evildoers from achieving their objectives."
President Bush has repeatedly said Washington does not want to break up Iraq.