Brigadier General Vincent Brooks also told a press conference at the US military's forward command base here that the rescuers found 11 bodies during the operation that have yet to be identified.

Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch, 19, a member of the 507th Maintenance Company, was snatched from an Iraqi-held hospital in the southern town of Nasiriyah after being held for more than a week, US military officials said.

"It was a classic joint operation done by some of our nation's finest warriors who are dedicated to never leaving a comrade behind," Brooks said.

He added that there had been no firefights with Iraqi forces inside the hospital, which according to Brooks had been used as a military post, but said US troops engaged Iraqi units approaching and leaving the facility.

Elsewhere during the briefing Brooks said US and British forces were now holding more than 4,500 Iraqi prisoners of war.

SPACE.WIRE