Interesting article about another of Saddam's atrocities. Rescues like this are just some of the things the military are doing in Iraq. There simply aren't enough of them to free the prisoners, dispose of weapons scattered in neighborhoods, and protect every Iraqi facility from the Iraqis.

The Marines found 123 prisoners, including five women, barely alive in an underground warren of cells and torture chambers.



Being trapped underground probably kept them safe from the bombing of Baghdad by the coalition.

Severely emaciated, some had survived by eating the scabs off their sores. All the men had beards down to their waists, said onlookers.

Most looked absolutely dazed when they emerged, said Mr Sadoun Mohamed, 37, who lives in the area.

'They had not seen sunlight for a long time,' he said. 'They kept blinking and covering their faces.' He said they were taken to the Saddam Hospital for treatment.

Their names were posted on the walls of the Al-Hajabehia Mosque in west Baghdad, as were names of some 40 others known to have been executed or murdered in prison.