Iraqi civilians rescued from al-Qaida 'prison'

US forces rescued 41 Iraqi civilians today from an al-Qaida hide-out north-east of Baghdad, including some who showed signs of torture and broken bones, a senior US official said.

Major General William Caldwell, the top US military spokesman in Baghdad, said it was the largest number of detained Iraqis ever found in a single al-Qaida hide-out.

Details were incomplete, but Caldwell said some of the freed Iraqis were being transported to medical facilities for treatment of their injuries.