American POW rescued from Iraq
American prisoner of war rescued Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, was rescued early Wednesday after being missing in action since March 23. The American prisoner of war was found in a hospital that doubled as an Iraqi military post, U.S. military officials said. Lynch is in stable condition, but she has two broken legs and a broken arm.
American prisoner of war rescued Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, was rescued early Wednesday after being missing in action since March 23. The American prisoner of war was found in a hospital that doubled as an Iraqi military post, U.S. military officials said. Lynch is in stable condition, but she has two broken legs and a broken arm. Pentagon sources said she suffered serious gunshot wounds in the ambush that lead to her capture. Seven other members of Lynch’s 507th Maintenance Company remain missing. Eleven bodies were also found at the rescue site, but it is unclear if they are those of U.S. soldiers.
Some coalition forces are now within 25 miles of Baghdad. In their advance toward the city, a spokesperson from U.S. Central Command said Wednesday, forces have destroyed a key Republican Guard unit. U.S. Army sources said Wednesday that the 1st and 3rd Brigades of the 3rd Infantry took Karbala with “very little effort.” Capt. Frank Thorp said Iraqi soldiers have taken over the gilded dome of the tomb of Ali, which is a landmark venerated by Shiite Muslims as the burial site of the prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law.
Central Command said Wednesday that it was investigating allegations that coalition airstrikes hit a Red Crescent maternity hospital in Baghdad.
CNN reported Wednesday that two surface-to-surface missiles hit near U.S. troops in the vicinity of Najaf. Initial reports indicate no soldiers were injured.
Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf delivered a message reportedly from President Saddam Hussein Tuesday. The statement called for jihad and read, “Don’t give them a chance…until they withdraw. Long live our nation. God is great. And they will be the losers, the evil, the criminals.”
Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera will leave the Army unit he was traveling with as a result of a recent broadcast. His broadcast included his exact location drawn in the sand. The Pentagon grew angry with the reporter after he revealed sensitive, operational details. Another journalist, Peter Arnett, 68, was fired from NBC and National Geographic Explorer. The controversy surrounding the reporter stems from his interview with Iraqi TV over the weekend. In that interview he discussed his personal observations of the war. Arnett, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has since been hired by Britain’s Daily Mirror.
