Private Lynch 'not shot and stabbed'
The rescue turned Private Lynch into a hero in the United States
A US army report into the capture of American soldier Jessica Lynch is expected to reveal the private was not shot or stabbed by Iraqis.
Private Lynch, a 19-year-old army clerk, was said to have suffered broken arms, a broken leg, and multiple gunshot wounds when her vehicle was ambushed at the start of the Iraq war.
Her rescue by US special forces was captured on camera, and became one of the most famous incidents of the war.
However the Pentagon report is expected to conclude that Private Lynch suffered her injuries as the result of a vehicle accident.
Details of Private Lynch's capture emerged shortly after her dramatic rescue in March.
Quote: There was no shooting, no bullet inside her body, no stab wound - only road traffic accident
Dr Harith a-Houssona
Her unit had taken a wrong turning and come under fire from Iraqi forces. Nine US soldiers were killed in the ambush.
Media reports suggested that Private Lynch was stabbed and shot, before being taken to a hospital controlled by Iraqi soldiers.
Although Pentagon officials at the time did not confirm the reports, they did little to dispel them, says the BBC's Fergal Parkinson in Washington.
But after an investigation by the army, the Pentagon will say Private Lynch was injured when her vehicle crashed after being struck by a projectile.
'Best treatment'
It is also expected to conclude that she was neither shot nor stabbed.
Iraqi doctors in Nasiriya told the BBC's Correspondent programme that they had provided the best treatment they could for Private Lynch in the midst of war.
She was assigned the only specialist bed in the hospital and one of only two nurses on the floor.
Dr Harith a-Houssona, who looked after her, said: "I examined her, I saw she had a broken arm, a broken thigh and a dislocated ankle."
They made a show for the American attack on the hospital - action movies like Sylvester Stallone or Jackie Chan
"There was no shooting, no bullet inside her body, no stab wound - only road traffic accident.
"They want to distort the picture. I don't know why they think there is some benefit in saying she has a bullet injury."
The Pentagon investigation did not cover the rescue - which some observers have said was stage-managed.
The Correspondent programme said the US military knew there were no Iraqi forces guarding the hospital, and quoted a local doctor saying that the troops used blank rounds to "make a show" of the operation.
Dr Anmar Uday, who worked at the hospital, said: "It was like a Hollywood film. They cried: 'Go, go, go', with guns and blanks without bullets, blanks and the sound of explosions.
"They made a show for the American attack on the hospital - action movies like Sylvester Stallone or Jackie Chan."
But the Pentagon denied that blanks were used, and said all the procedures used were consistent with normal operations when there is a threat of encountering hostile forces.
Private Lynch has never spoken on the subject
Doctors say she has no recollection of her capture and probably never will.
She is still being treated for her injuries.
Source: BBC Online
