>>POW rescued, but 11 bodies found
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The dramatic rescue of a U.S. Army private held by Iraqi forces was tempered Wednesday by the fact that elite U.S. forces also found 11 corpses -- at least some of which are bodies of American soldiers, military sources told NBC News. In addition, NBC's Kerry Sanders reported from the town where Pfc. Jessica Lynch was found that he received word she had been tortured.
NINE BODIES were found in a grave area and two in the morgue of a hospital where Lynch had been held, Brig. Gen. Vince Brooks told reporters at U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar.
Forensic experts are now trying to determine "who they might be," he said. But military sources told NBC News that at least some were American soldiers.
Brooks added that U.S. forces engaged in a firefight on the way into and out of the hospital overnight Tuesday, but there were no coalition casualties. Ammunition, mortars, maps and a terrain model were found at the hospital, he said, along with "other things that made it very clear it was being used as a military command post."
Lynch, 19, suffered two broken legs and a broken arm, said Capt. Jay La Rossa, a spokesman for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Force.
She was one of eight soldiers who vanished after a maintenance convoy was attacked in An Nasiriyah on March 23.
Planning for the rescue started when an An Nasiriyah resident passed Marines a note that said she was being held at a hospital being used as a headquarters by Iraqi forces, Sanders reported. The note even mentioned what room she was in.
The commando raid included Air Force pilots, Marines, Navy SEALS, Army Rangers -- "loyal to the creed they know that they never leave a fallen comrade," Brooks said.
'SHE'S BEING TORTURED'
Separately, Sanders was approached by an English-speaking resident who said a female U.S. soldier was being held at the hospital.
"Please make sure the people in charge know that she's being tortured," the resident claimed.
Brooks said he had no information of torture. Lynch, of Palestine, W.Va., was to be flown later Wednesday to a U.S. military hospital in Germany.
Sanders reported that Lynch was originally held at another nearby hospital used by Iraqi forces and where Marines last week found a bloody uniform used by U.S. servicewomen. They had also found a room with a bed and large battery next to it, indicating to Marines that it had been used as a torture chamber.
RELIEF AT HOME
Relatives and friends said Lynch, a supply clerk who turns 20 later this month, joined the Army to get an education and follow her dream of becoming a teacher. Her older brother, Gregory, is a member of the National Guard.
"I got a phone call, and they told me, and I was tickled pink," Lynch's cousin Rita Lynch told MSNBC TV. "I was real worried. I didn't think I would ever see her again."
President Bush was told of the rescue during a briefing with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, spokeswoman Suzy DeFrancis said. The president responded, "That's great."
Lynch was one of 15 members of the Army's 507th Maintenance Company, based at Fort Bliss, Texas, who were ambushed after taking a wrong turn.
The Army later listed two of the 15 as dead, five as prisoners of war and the eight others, including Lynch, as missing.
The dead bodies of what appeared to be several soldiers were displayed on Iraqi television last week; Pentagon officials charged that they had been executed, which Iraq denied.
The information about Lynch's whereabouts was developed while the Marines were searching forAli Hassan al-Majeed, a cousin of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein who was believed to have put in charge of the southern front.
Al-Majeed is known by the nickname "Chemical Ali" for overseeing the use of poison gas that killed 5,000 Kurdish villagers in 1988.
Lynch was rescued as Marines staged decoy attacks, including assaults on the headquarters of the local Baath Party and the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary organization, both of which were destroyed.
RED CROSS VISITS PRISONERS
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that it had started visiting Iraqi prisoners of war held by U.S.-led forces at a camp near the southern town of Umm Qasr. The Red Cross had not yet succeeded in gaining access to Americans held by Iraq.
Britain said on Monday, the 12th day of the war, that about 8,000 Iraqi prisoners of war had been taken.
A 15-member team, including a doctor and six interpreters, is registering and evaluating prisoners.
In keeping with its policy, the Red Cross will not be commenting publicly on the treatment or conditions of prisoners.
Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which both sides have signed, the Red Cross must be allowed to visit prisoners of war.
Jessica Yellin and Jim Miklaszewski in Washington; David Shuster in Doha, Qatar; and
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.<<
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