Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Battling for Basra

Aired March 31, 2003 - 06:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Here now, folks, is a quick look at some of the latest battle scenes that we have for you.
In southeastern Iraq, the U.S. Central Command says that the Marines found large caches of weapons, ammunition and chemical decontamination equipment near Basra. Iraqi families have clutched all their possessions, grabbed them and then fled the city to escape the bombs and mortars that fell there.

In northern Iraq, extensive bombing in the city of Mosul and heavy airstrikes hitting a ridge above Kalak. That's just east of Mosul.

And in Baghdad, another night of sustained airstrikes there and fire raging at a Baghdad shopping center, which our Nic Robertson tells us is a mall adjacent to Iraq's Ministry of Information, which has been targeted by airstrikes.

Well Secretary of State Colin Powell is warning nations that have been supportive of terrorism that the U.S. will demand that they take responsibility and that he singled out Syria during a speech to a pro Israel lobby group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Syria also now faces a critical choice. Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein or it can embark on a different and a more hopeful course. Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices and for the consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well Syria's Ambassador to the U.S. denies his country is involved in illegitimate activities, and he appeared on "CNN's LARRY KING LIVE" to defend his government.

033000CN.V22

HARRIS: Secretary Powell also criticized Iran saying that the government there must stop perusing weapons of mass destruction.

Well U.S. aircraft pounded Iraqi positions near the northern town of Kalak today and that helped Kurdish fighters as they seized territory from Saddam Hussein's fleeing troops. CNN's James Martone reports after an intense firefight, 13 Iraqi soldiers abandoned their posts this morning and surrendered to Kurdish fighters. Well military gains over paramilitary units in southern Iraq is proving easier than winning over the civilian population of Basra, believe it or not.

For an update on that, here's CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the area of southern Iraq around Basra, a two-prong British military effort continues both the fighting and the humanitarian and psychological warfare to try to turn the civilian population to come on to the side of the British forces here.

In terms of the fighting, the latest details are, according to military spokesmen, that a commando operation by the British Royal Marines that lasted most of Sunday and began in the predawn hours is now over with the British Royal Marines, we're told, holding the town, the little village of Abu Al-Kasiev (ph) on the southeast of Basra.

This started after the British noted Iraqi infantry and tanks, they say, coming out of the southeast of Basra in offensive positions. And so, they say, they have now overrun those positions, taken, they say, 200 prisoners of war and brought them down closer to Umm Qasr at the big British prisoner of war camp to which there are now 3,000 people there, we are told.

We were also told that they had captured five senior Iraqi army officers and also killed one Republican Guard colonel. Now there had been word yesterday, it was reported, that amongst those captured was an Iraqi army general. But after that, the Al Jazeera Arab Television Network showed pictures and in interview with that Iraqi general who pronounced himself very much still in control.

On the humanitarian side, this is the day that the fresh drinking water is meant to start flowing to Iraqis in the southeast part of this country and particularly, Umm Qasr where a pipeline from Kuwait has now been completed. And fresh water is flowing into tankers, which are to be driven around the city to central distribution points.

It had started, actually, yesterday, but there had been a great deal of confusion about how the water was to be delivered and whether or not the people were meant to have paid for it. Today, Monday, those people are meant to be getting their water free from central distribution points that are going to be patrolled by the British military.

I'm Christiane Amanpour, CNN, reporting from near Basra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Aired March 31, 2003 - 06:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Here now, folks, is a quick look at some of the latest battle scenes that we have for you.
In southeastern Iraq, the U.S. Central Command says that the Marines found large caches of weapons, ammunition and chemical decontamination equipment near Basra. Iraqi families have clutched all their possessions, grabbed them and then fled the city to escape the bombs and mortars that fell there.

In northern Iraq, extensive bombing in the city of Mosul and heavy airstrikes hitting a ridge above Kalak. That's just east of Mosul.

And in Baghdad, another night of sustained airstrikes there and fire raging at a Baghdad shopping center, which our Nic Robertson tells us is a mall adjacent to Iraq's Ministry of Information, which has been targeted by airstrikes.

Well Secretary of State Colin Powell is warning nations that have been supportive of terrorism that the U.S. will demand that they take responsibility and that he singled out Syria during a speech to a pro Israel lobby group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Syria also now faces a critical choice. Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein or it can embark on a different and a more hopeful course. Either way, Syria bears the responsibility for its choices and for the consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well Syria's Ambassador to the U.S. denies his country is involved in illegitimate activities, and he appeared on "CNN's LARRY KING LIVE" to defend his government.

033000CN.V22

HARRIS: Secretary Powell also criticized Iran saying that the government there must stop perusing weapons of mass destruction.

Well U.S. aircraft pounded Iraqi positions near the northern town of Kalak today and that helped Kurdish fighters as they seized territory from Saddam Hussein's fleeing troops. CNN's James Martone reports after an intense firefight, 13 Iraqi soldiers abandoned their posts this morning and surrendered to Kurdish fighters. Well military gains over paramilitary units in southern Iraq is proving easier than winning over the civilian population of Basra, believe it or not.

For an update on that, here's CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the area of southern Iraq around Basra, a two-prong British military effort continues both the fighting and the humanitarian and psychological warfare to try to turn the civilian population to come on to the side of the British forces here.

In terms of the fighting, the latest details are, according to military spokesmen, that a commando operation by the British Royal Marines that lasted most of Sunday and began in the predawn hours is now over with the British Royal Marines, we're told, holding the town, the little village of Abu Al-Kasiev (ph) on the southeast of Basra.

This started after the British noted Iraqi infantry and tanks, they say, coming out of the southeast of Basra in offensive positions. And so, they say, they have now overrun those positions, taken, they say, 200 prisoners of war and brought them down closer to Umm Qasr at the big British prisoner of war camp to which there are now 3,000 people there, we are told.

We were also told that they had captured five senior Iraqi army officers and also killed one Republican Guard colonel. Now there had been word yesterday, it was reported, that amongst those captured was an Iraqi army general. But after that, the Al Jazeera Arab Television Network showed pictures and in interview with that Iraqi general who pronounced himself very much still in control.

On the humanitarian side, this is the day that the fresh drinking water is meant to start flowing to Iraqis in the southeast part of this country and particularly, Umm Qasr where a pipeline from Kuwait has now been completed. And fresh water is flowing into tankers, which are to be driven around the city to central distribution points.

It had started, actually, yesterday, but there had been a great deal of confusion about how the water was to be delivered and whether or not the people were meant to have paid for it. Today, Monday, those people are meant to be getting their water free from central distribution points that are going to be patrolled by the British military.

I'm Christiane Amanpour, CNN, reporting from near Basra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com