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CNN Live At Daybreak

Coalition Forces Hit Suspected Terrorist Site in Northern Iraq

Aired April 01, 2003 - 06:38   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go live to northern Iraq now to check in with Brent Sadler. He brought us amazing pictures just a short time ago.
Tell us about it -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Carol, you're joining me live here in a remote area called Biyara, just close to the Iranian border. That banging you can hear behind me, if you can just pan across to my right over here, actually Kurdish villagers here repairing some of the damage to this village after U.S. airstrikes, which really opened up -- destroyed, rather, a terrorist area under the control of Ansar al-Islam.

This has been something of a side show, you might say, to the war that's going on in the south against Saddam Hussein. But here, we've had, you know, continuing action by the U.S. Special Forces, supported by close air support airstrikes from coalition warplanes, really destroying strongholds of Ansar al-Islamist terrorist group in this area.

Now, you're taking here a view of the mosque. That was peppered with shrapnel holes by the airstrikes, lamented by Kurdish officials on the ground here, but they say it is unavoidable given that they wanted to root out and destroy what they call a web of terrorist strongholds across about some 250 square miles of this part of northern Iraq, which is slap-bang next to the Iranian border.

So you see more damage here as we move across this mosque, which was the very heart, I'm told, here of Ansar al-Islam operations on the ground.

Now, we're told that hundreds of them died, were killed in battle, mostly by a force of 10,000 Iraqi Kurds from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, supported by about 80 U.S. Special Forces on the ground. U.S. Special Forces commanders tell me that they are aware that the remnants of the terrorist group moved over those mountains, the snow-capped mountains you can see there, which is the international border with Iran, and sought refuge in Iran. So they have moved over there.

Now, it's interesting to tell you that in the past couple of hours, the U.S. Special Forces on the ground here actually broke cover. They had a press conference. And they were really heaping praise on the way that this exceptional liaison had worked between, for the first time on the battlefield I might add, between Special Forces, air support and Kurdish fighters on the ground. This is what the Special Forces commanders had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a classic example.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say it's an outstanding example of what Special Forces train for in the United States, unconventional warfare, working with an indigenous force to add to their capabilities and add assistance and advice where we can. This -- to put this in perspective, this was a division-scale attack against about a brigade- minus-sized force on well-entrenched, difficult terrain, and I would say that they did it in a more rapid fashion than most armies of the world would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: So praise indeed from U.S. Special Forces.

Here around the mosque, villagers are now making it safe. Still pretty dangerous here when I look around at all of the masonry entangled metalwork around here. They're going to start working very quickly, they say, on rectifying the problems of this area now that it's clear of Ansar al-Islam.

Just a couple of extra things to add. Special Forces say that they found equipment and documentation which indicates -- repeat -- indicates a presence of chemical or biological weapons in some of the areas that they've gotten to, and we're talking here about very remote areas, caves if you like. In fact, one of the similarities that commanders on the ground are telling me, think Tora Bora, Afghanistan, think a small Tora Bora here.

And still, Special Forces are searching this area looking for anything which might support al Qaeda connections.

Back to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: A question about this terror group. If they were operating inside a Kurdish-controlled area, how was it that Saddam Hussein had control? Or did he have control of them?

SADLER: Just to clarify that, Carol, no, there was no direct central government control from Baghdad in this area. These elements of this Ansar al-Islam -- and we're talking about 1,000 fighters here. Quite small when you consider the force it's been up against: U.S. AC-130 gunships, heavy bombing, B-52s, and a 10,000-strong Kurdish force.

So a really tough resistance on the ground here, but they're slap-bang next to the Iranian border. That's where it seems they've escaped to.

In terms of Saddam Hussein, no, no control here. This was, if you like, a terror-safe haven within the Kurdish enclave for years. Terrorists from this area, Kurdish commanders say, had been harassing their Kurdish fighters, their politicians, throwing suicide bombings against the Kurds for many, many years. This was business that needed to be cleared up, and it has been cleared up very quickly. Thirty-six hours to deal with this after years of this building as a terror hub if you like, a very quick and successful operation, according to those Special Force officers.

COSTELLO: Brent Sadler, thanks -- Brent Sadler live in northern Iraq.

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




Iraq>


Aired April 1, 2003 - 06:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go live to northern Iraq now to check in with Brent Sadler. He brought us amazing pictures just a short time ago.
Tell us about it -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Carol, you're joining me live here in a remote area called Biyara, just close to the Iranian border. That banging you can hear behind me, if you can just pan across to my right over here, actually Kurdish villagers here repairing some of the damage to this village after U.S. airstrikes, which really opened up -- destroyed, rather, a terrorist area under the control of Ansar al-Islam.

This has been something of a side show, you might say, to the war that's going on in the south against Saddam Hussein. But here, we've had, you know, continuing action by the U.S. Special Forces, supported by close air support airstrikes from coalition warplanes, really destroying strongholds of Ansar al-Islamist terrorist group in this area.

Now, you're taking here a view of the mosque. That was peppered with shrapnel holes by the airstrikes, lamented by Kurdish officials on the ground here, but they say it is unavoidable given that they wanted to root out and destroy what they call a web of terrorist strongholds across about some 250 square miles of this part of northern Iraq, which is slap-bang next to the Iranian border.

So you see more damage here as we move across this mosque, which was the very heart, I'm told, here of Ansar al-Islam operations on the ground.

Now, we're told that hundreds of them died, were killed in battle, mostly by a force of 10,000 Iraqi Kurds from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, supported by about 80 U.S. Special Forces on the ground. U.S. Special Forces commanders tell me that they are aware that the remnants of the terrorist group moved over those mountains, the snow-capped mountains you can see there, which is the international border with Iran, and sought refuge in Iran. So they have moved over there.

Now, it's interesting to tell you that in the past couple of hours, the U.S. Special Forces on the ground here actually broke cover. They had a press conference. And they were really heaping praise on the way that this exceptional liaison had worked between, for the first time on the battlefield I might add, between Special Forces, air support and Kurdish fighters on the ground. This is what the Special Forces commanders had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a classic example.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say it's an outstanding example of what Special Forces train for in the United States, unconventional warfare, working with an indigenous force to add to their capabilities and add assistance and advice where we can. This -- to put this in perspective, this was a division-scale attack against about a brigade- minus-sized force on well-entrenched, difficult terrain, and I would say that they did it in a more rapid fashion than most armies of the world would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: So praise indeed from U.S. Special Forces.

Here around the mosque, villagers are now making it safe. Still pretty dangerous here when I look around at all of the masonry entangled metalwork around here. They're going to start working very quickly, they say, on rectifying the problems of this area now that it's clear of Ansar al-Islam.

Just a couple of extra things to add. Special Forces say that they found equipment and documentation which indicates -- repeat -- indicates a presence of chemical or biological weapons in some of the areas that they've gotten to, and we're talking here about very remote areas, caves if you like. In fact, one of the similarities that commanders on the ground are telling me, think Tora Bora, Afghanistan, think a small Tora Bora here.

And still, Special Forces are searching this area looking for anything which might support al Qaeda connections.

Back to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: A question about this terror group. If they were operating inside a Kurdish-controlled area, how was it that Saddam Hussein had control? Or did he have control of them?

SADLER: Just to clarify that, Carol, no, there was no direct central government control from Baghdad in this area. These elements of this Ansar al-Islam -- and we're talking about 1,000 fighters here. Quite small when you consider the force it's been up against: U.S. AC-130 gunships, heavy bombing, B-52s, and a 10,000-strong Kurdish force.

So a really tough resistance on the ground here, but they're slap-bang next to the Iranian border. That's where it seems they've escaped to.

In terms of Saddam Hussein, no, no control here. This was, if you like, a terror-safe haven within the Kurdish enclave for years. Terrorists from this area, Kurdish commanders say, had been harassing their Kurdish fighters, their politicians, throwing suicide bombings against the Kurds for many, many years. This was business that needed to be cleared up, and it has been cleared up very quickly. Thirty-six hours to deal with this after years of this building as a terror hub if you like, a very quick and successful operation, according to those Special Force officers.

COSTELLO: Brent Sadler, thanks -- Brent Sadler live in northern Iraq.

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




Iraq>