Jessica 'was fighting to the death'

Rescued American woman soldier Jessica Lynch was captured "fighting to the death" as she was taken prisoner by an overwhelming force of Iraqi troops.

The 19-year-old private, who was snatched back in a daring raid by special forces, is said to have shot several enemy soldiers and was only overpowered by sheer weight of numbers.

"She was fighting to the death," one US official said last night. "She did not want to be taken alive."

Private Lynch was part of an army maintenance unit that lost its way heading north through the city of Nasiriyah and was ambushed by Iraqis. A supply clerk with the 507th Ordnance Maintenance company. She was never meant to see combat and is thought to have been only lightly armed with side weapons.

The story of her bravery is said to have come from intercepted Iraqi intelligence communications that also told rescuers where she had been hidden.

One report said that Private Lynch, from Palestine, West Virginia, was stabbed after being captured only when she ran out of ammunition.

Initially US intelligence reports suggested that she had died of her wounds in the ambush. After the CIA discovered she was still alive and being held, a special forces operation by Army Rangers and Navy Seals was launched to bring her home. At least seven other soldiers from her unit are still listed as missing in action, along with five others shown on Iraqi state TV as prisoners of war. During the rescue, two bodies were found in the morgue of the hospital in which she had been held, and nine others in shallow graves, US officials say several seem to be Americans.

Private Lynch was flown to a US Army hospital in Germany yesterday where she is in stable condition with two broken arms and a broken leg, along with gunshot and stab wounds. Pentagon spokesman Victoria Clarke said she was "in good spirits and being treated for injuries".

Another military official said she had spoken to her parents and was "in good spirits" but hungry and in pain. "She was pretty messed up," he said.

An Iraqi medic who cared for her frequently heard her crying and begging to be reunited with her family. "She said every time, about wanting to go home," he told Sky News in an interview.

More details have also emerged about the raid that freed her. Electricity was cut to the hospital, while an AC130 gunship circled over head. The operation was relayed live to US commanders, including General Tommy Franks, with night-vision cameras mounted on soldiers' helmets. Special Operations forces also found what they believe is a torture chamber in the hospital, with batteries and metal prods.