Iraqi aid gets US asylum

An Iraqi lawyer who helped American commandos locate and rescue prisoner of war Jessica Lynch has been granted asylum in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced today.

Jessica, a 20-year-old US army supply clerk, was captured on March 23 after her 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 US forces received a tip about her whereabouts from a lawyer known only as “Mohammed.”

Ridge identified the man as Mohammed Al Rehaief and said the lawyer and his wife and five-year-old daughter arrived in the United States earlier this month after Homeland Security granted them “humanitarian parole.”

On Monday, the family was granted asylum by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“Mr Al Rehaief should know Americans are grateful for his bravery and for his compassion,” Ridge said.

Jessica suffered a head wound, spinal injury and fractures to her right arm, both legs and her right foot and ankle.

She is being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington.