"It is good news," said Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks who put the number of rescued Americans at seven.

"They are under observation right now medically," he said at the US Central Command's headquarters at Camp As-Saliyah, in Qatar.

Franks, the head of Central Command, whose forces are leading the war against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, said in interviews with television channels they had been found by US marines and appeared to be healthy.

It was not clear if the soldiers were prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA), Franks told CNN.

"I got a report that six or seven people we had listed as missing" were found, he said, adding, "I know they're in good shape and I know they're in our hands and under our control now."

Franks said he did not know if any women were among the group, adding, "We'll get better definition" on the matter later.

He said it was unclear at the moment who they were, whether from downed Apache helicopters, or survivors of an ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company.

"That's the reason I've been a little bit reluctant to pass anything on. I just don't think we ought to talk about what we don't know yet."

Franks told Britain's Sky television, "I don't have the full content of the way they were picked up but what I'm told is that someone came up to our marines who were moving along the road headed toward Tikrit, and said, 'here shortly you're going to come into contact with a number of Americans and just so you know they're there', and so the tip came from an Iraqi and so I believe our guys picked them up on the road."

In Baghdad earlier a US commander who asked not to be named said, "What is believed to be six American soldiers from the army have been rescued from Iraqi forces after being held as prisoners of war about 60 mileskilometres) north of Baghdad."

He had said they were being sent to a trauma platoon in Baghdad but other officers later told AFP the order had been changed and that they were going to a military medical facility in the Iraqi town of An-Numaniyah.

It was unclear why, but one said they were suffering from dehydration.

"There are six POWs-MIAs, and we don't know anything more than that," a marine doctor told AFP.

The commander who asked not to be named said that specific instructions had been handed down from a general to see that the six were handled urgently.

No names or further details were released.

The Washington Post for its part said seven US soldiers were turned over to the US military by their guards after their officers deserted, and were being flown to a medical facility near Baghdad.

"The rescued prisoners, all US army soldiers listed as missing in action since the early days of the war in Iraq, are reported in good condition. Two had suffered gunshot wounds. Rescued soldiers are now being flown to a military medical facility near Baghdad," the report said.

They were rescued near Samara, a town north of Baghdad, the Post said.

The guards evidently were deserted by their officers and gave up their prisoners themselves, it added, quoting a US officer in the field.

One member of the 507th Maintenance Company was Private Jessica Lynch, 19, who was rescued by US special forces from Iraqi captivity in a hospital in the southern city of Nasiriyah on April 1.

The bodies of eight of her comrades who had initially been listed as missing in action were also found, while five more were interviewed by Iraqi television before disappearing.

SPACE.WIRE