more on jets
At least one of the MiGs was found with its tail fins poking out of the sand, the agency quoted the Pentagon official as saying.
It said many of the planes were buried with little protection and might never fly again.
The Iraqi air force, believed to have numbered around 300 fighter planes, was not mobilised during the US-led war with Iraq earlier this year.
It is thought Saddam Hussein believed the ageing aircraft would be no match for American firepower, and sought to conceal them instead.
From BBC