The ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company's convoy near the southern town of Nasiriyah on March 23 resulted in the worst single-day loss of life during the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Lynch's dramatic rescue April 1 made her a national hero.

The report is expected to be released officially by next week. A draft copy obtained Thursday by AFP praised the company's soldiers for their conduct.

"They fought the best they could until there was no longer a means to resist. They defeated ambushes, overcame hastily-prepared enemy obstacles, defended one another, provided lifesaving aid and inflicted casualties on the enemy," the report said.

"Every soldier performed honorably and each did his duty," said the report.

The ambush occurred after 33 soldiers from the company in 18 vehicles became separated from the main US military advance into Iraq after falling more than 12 hours behind.

In his efforts to catch up, the company commander, Captain Troy King, took the wrong route into Iraqi-held Nasiriyah instead of bypassing the city, the report said.

On their way into the city, they passed two checkpoints that appeared to be manned by armed Iraqi soldiers, who waved at the convoy, according to the report.

The convoy came under attack while passing through Nasiriyah a second time after a series of wrong turns and three days on the road with little sleep.

The attack on the convoy lasted between 60 and 90 minutes, the report said. In that time, the convoy became split into three smaller groups. Vehicles became disabled and crashed into each other in the confusion.

Some of the soldiers reported their M-16 rifles jammed when they tried to return fire, which "may have resulted from inadequate individual maintenance in a desert environment," the report said.

It said Lynch was seriously injured when the vehicle she was in crashed into the back of another vehicle at high speed and was later captured, refuting earlier, unconfirmed reports that she had been shot or stabbed while resisting.

The report said six other soldiers were captured, including Private Lori Piestewa, who died in captivity of her wounds.

The five survivors were freed by their captors after the April 9 fall of the Saddam Hussein regime.

The report said the circumstances of how two soldiers died remains under investigation.

Video images shown after the battle on the Arabic satellite news channel Al-Jazeera showed what appeared to be bullet holes in the foreheads of some of the dead US soldiers, indicating they may have been executed.

WAR.WIRE