Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An Iraqi lawyer who helped U.S commandos locate and rescue prisoner of war Jessica Lynch has been granted asylum in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced Tuesday.
Lynch, a 19-year-old Army supply clerk from Palestine, W.Va., was captured March 23 after her 507th Maintenance Company convoy was ambushed in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. She was rescued from an Iraqi hospital in the city on April 1 after U.S. forces received a tip from a lawyer identified only as "Mohammed."
Residents in Lynch's hometown helped form "Friends of Mohammed" to locate and help the lawyer, who reportedly drew a map to guide U.S. forces to Lynch.
Ridge planned to release more details on Mohammed and the asylum during a speech Tuesday afternoon at the National Press Club.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
