Arab TV Shows Americans Held by Iraqis 
March 23, 2003 10:38 AM EST   .......................................................................................
Patriot Missile Shoots Down British Jet
New Explosions Hit Baghdad		 U.S. Moves Within 100 Miles of Baghdad
Northern Iraqi cities of Mosul, Kirkuk bombed

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, right,
is shown in this image from video speaking during
a news conference Sunday, March 23, 2003, in
Baghdad. The Iraqi vice president claimed Sunday
that U.S. prisoners of war had been captured and 
would soon be shown on television. 
(AP Photo/APTN)		 DOHA, Qatar - Al-Jazeera television on Sunday broadcast scenes of American bodies lying dead in a makeshift morgue and interviews with American prisoners who the station said were captured around Nasiriyah. 

Two of the prisoners said they were from the 507th Maintenance. 

U.S.: Fewer Than 10 Soldiers Missing 
WASHINGTON - Some American soldiers are missing in the fighting in Iraq and possibly being held as prisoners, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday. He acknowledged a report of a missing allied aircraft but U.S. defense officials said there was no evidence of that. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said he thought fewer than 10 soldiers were missing in southern Iraq and that military officials were trying to account for them. "Beyond that, we don't know," Gen. Richard Myers said on "Fox News Sunday." 

Rumsfeld said he could not provide any information about a missing aircraft. In Baghdad, security officers searched the banks of the Tigris River, apparently looking for one or more pilots who may have bailed out of a downed plane. 
Asked what he could say about missing pilots, Rumsfeld replied, "Nothing." He suggested that the search in Baghdad was staged. 

"There has been a report of an aircraft missing," the secretary acknowledged on NBC's "Meet the Press. "I don't want to speculate because I simply don't know." 

Rumsfeld said there are some American troops who are missing in Iraq. He noted that under the Geneva Conventions governing prisoners of war, "It's illegal to do things to POWs that are humiliating to those prisoners." 

"There are, we believe, there are some American soldiers missing." He said there also could be captured journalists. 

Rumsfeld characterized the progress of the five-day-old war as excellent, noting that "there are periodic instances when the resistance is quite stiff. ... The fact that there is a firefight, someone ought not to be surprised." 

He said the fate of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein remained uncertain. The United States launched air strikes against Baghdad earlier than planned based on intelligence reports that gave U.S. planners hope that they could kill Saddam with an unexpected strike. 

"There are reports in Baghdad and in Iraq that he may be dead or that he may be injured," Rumsfeld said. "We'll just have to assume that he is alive and well." 

Rumsfeld said if it turns out that Saddam is dead, the United States would not conceal the fact. "My personal view, I would say that the truth is the truth. If he's dead, he's dead." 

Myers said the report of the missing plane was unsubstantiated. 

"We have nothing to substantiate that claim by the Iraqis, that any pilot has bailed out of his airplane over Baghdad," he told ABC's "This Week." 

"In fact, we checked just before coming on the air, and all planes are reported safe at this point," said Myers, who spoke about an hour before Rumsfeld. 

Myers was less certain about whether there were Americans being held prisoner in Iraq. 

"We're still trying to track that one down," Myers said. "We're in contact with Central Command. They will be the ones that will determine that. And we're going to have to do some more investigation to determine whether that's true or not."