[Timesink]

	NEWS RELEASE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
	April 2, 2003 Release Number: 03-04-15 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AMERICAN POW RESCUED YESTERDAY; UNIDENTIFIED REMAINS FOUND Camp As Sayliyah, near Doha, Qatar - Coalition forces rescued Pfc. Jessica Lynch at a hospital yesterday in An Nasiriyah. Lynch is a member of the 507th Maintenance Company whose convoy was ambushed on March 23 by enemy forces in Iraq. Coalition forces are currently assessing her medical condition. Also, according to initial reports from last night's rescue operation in Iraq, 11 human remains were found at or near the hospital rescue site. Efforts are underway to identify the remains and more information will be released as soon as it is available. -30-

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GEN. BROOKS: I don't want to comment too specifically on her condition. The good news is she's alive. She's in coalition control and receiving appropriate medical attention and care and screening right now. And for her privacy, I won't go any further into that.

As to who was holding her, the regime was holding her. The regime clearly had done this. It was regime forces that had been in there. Indications are they were paramilitaries, but we don't know exactly who. They'd apparently moved most of them out before we arrived to get in, although, as I mentioned, there were buildings outside of the Saddam Hospital, where we received fire -- or the assault force received fire -- during the night.

We did unfortunately also find the remains of 11 persons who are unidentified at this point. Two of the persons were inside of a morgue within the hospital building, and the other nine were outside in a grave area inside the community.

Our coalition forces were escorted to those locations by someone who was taken into custody during the assault, and the locations were pointed out by them. At this point we're doing additional forensic examination and medical examination to determine who they might be. We don't know at this point and don't have any further comment on who it is at the current time.