M A I N   N E W S

IRAQ DIARY
Americans rescue woman PoW
Rajeev Sharma

US army soldier Jessica Lynch (19) grimaces inside a US helicopter on Wednesday after being rescued by US special forces. Lynch had two broken legs and one broken arm. — Reuters photo

Kuwait City, April 2
In a daring midnight operation, the American special forces rescued a woman US army soldier from an Iraqi hospital near Nassiriyah and destroyed the headquarters of the feared militia, Saddam Fidayeen.

Jessica Lynch, a 19-year-old supply clerk, who was captured on March 23 when a maintenance convoy she was part of was ambushed by Iraqi forces, was rescued in the commando operation. She had her both legs and one arm broken, officials here said.

Besides, the US troops recovered bodies of two other American soldiers during their raid on Saddam Hospital.

It was not immediately clear whether Lynch had sustained injuries in the ambush or she was tortured by the Iraqis. She was one of the 15 US soldiers reported missing in action. Her 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company made a wrong turn and came under fire from Iraqi tanks.

Surprisingly for the Americans, they did not come across any resistance from the Iraqis in this operation. They encashed on this opportunity and destroyed a local Baath party official’s residence, a telecom cable repeater station, apart from headquarters of the Saddam Fidayeen, in the area.

***

Heat wave forecast in Iraq: Meterologists have forecast an unusual heat wave in Iraq in the coming days and expect the temperature to cross 40° C by this weekend. This is a worrisome scenario for the coalition forces who are well aware of the pitfalls in fighting in Iraq when mercury shoots up to 55° C in summers.

Though the coalition forces are putting up a brave front by asserting that their soldiers were trained to fight under any conditions, it remains a historical fact that in wars fought by troops in faraway lands, weather and terrain can upset the best of the military plans by the best of the armies.

Added to this is the fact that the coalition forces’ troops have to wear chemical and biological warfare suit in this searing heat. They are well aware that these suits were more necessary than ever before, even though there has been no trace of the chemical and biological warfare weapons with the Iraqi forces.

Strategists have warned that a desperate President Saddam Hussein may unleash an unconventional attack as the last-ditch effort.