Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/8/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=PENTAGON/PRISONERS (S ONLY)

NUMBER=2-301950

BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA

DATELINE=PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: With U-S led coalition forces cleaning up pockets of resistance around Iraq, the Pentagon has not forgotten Americans taken prisoner or missing during nearly three weeks of fighting. More from V-O-A Pentagon Correspondent Alex Belida.

TEXT: Senior Pentagon officials will not discuss the find by U-S forces at a military prison in Baghdad of bloodied American uniforms, believed to belong to some of the seven soldiers listed as prisoners of war.

But Major General Stanley McChrystal of the Pentagon's Joint Staff says rescuing the P-O-W's remains a top priority.

///MCCHRYSTAL ACTUALITY///

We'll continue to demonstrate just how important any prisoners of war are to us, and our desire to rescue them will not stop. And we are conducting intelligence gathering and operations to support that.

///END ACTUALITY///

One American soldier, Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch, was rescued from an Iraqi hospital by U-S forces acting on intelligence information.

But seven other Americans remain P-O-W's, with ten additional Americans missing and unaccounted for --- including two airmen whose F-15 went down in Iraq late Sunday in a previously undisclosed incident. Search and rescue operations for the crew are continuing. (Signed)

NEB/BEL/PT