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CNN Live At Daybreak

Kurds Fighting Saddam Loyalists in N. Iraq

Aired April 05, 2003 - 05:27   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's check in on northern Iraq now. Kurdish fighters, the Peshmurga, are supported by U.S. air power.
They pushed back Iraqi forces and secured a key bridge on a road leading to Mosul. Our Brent Sadler is with the cruise militia near Keefry (ph) and he checks in now. Brent, hello.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... the northern front areas. We're not getting ground force movement at all, but we are seeing intensified air strike activity.

Now I've just come back to my location here. I can't say precisely where I am for operational security reasons, but I have been out with a group of Peshmerga commandos to a front line, which leads to a very important northeastern corridor, which is still open on the route to Baghdad. I guess it would take about an hour's drive from the location I've just been to to reach the Iraqi capital. But as things still stand now, those Peshmerga, are still facing Iraqi high ground which is still in the hands, still holding by the Iraqi army, all we understand Saddam Fadayeen irregulars.

Now we can see them clearly on the ridgeline. They're pretty complacent, I have to say, they appeared and no aggressive actions even though we were clearly within range. But also while I was there I've been seeing continuing, very close cooperation between the Peshmerga, the local fighters on the ground here, the Iraqi Kurds and the U.S. special forces. We know that special forces have been playing a key role throughout operations, not just in the south of Iraq, but here, of course, in the north and these air strikes we've been seeing over the past couple of weeks have been called in by Special Force operations on the ground acting as forward air controllers, really giving the coordinates on the ground distinguishing between Peshmerga Iraqi Kurd help territory and these positions where the Iraqi soldiers are still in possession of territory, are still holding the forward air controllers, bringing in close air support to take out artillery pieces and other substantive Iraqi military equipment.

We're not seeing any breakthrough on the ground from the north yet. We know there's a lot of interest by the Iraqi Kurds, the Iraqi opposition as a whole to move against Kirkuk and Mosul, those key northern cities. But as yet no move against that and as yet, no move along this northeastern corridor towards Baghdad. But I don't expect the situation to remain as static as this for very much longer -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Brent Sadler, thank you for that latest update from northern Iraq. We'll be back with you.

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 April 5, 2003 - 05:27   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's check in on northern Iraq now. Kurdish fighters, the Peshmurga, are supported by U.S. air power.
They pushed back Iraqi forces and secured a key bridge on a road leading to Mosul. Our Brent Sadler is with the cruise militia near Keefry (ph) and he checks in now. Brent, hello.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... the northern front areas. We're not getting ground force movement at all, but we are seeing intensified air strike activity.

Now I've just come back to my location here. I can't say precisely where I am for operational security reasons, but I have been out with a group of Peshmerga commandos to a front line, which leads to a very important northeastern corridor, which is still open on the route to Baghdad. I guess it would take about an hour's drive from the location I've just been to to reach the Iraqi capital. But as things still stand now, those Peshmerga, are still facing Iraqi high ground which is still in the hands, still holding by the Iraqi army, all we understand Saddam Fadayeen irregulars.

Now we can see them clearly on the ridgeline. They're pretty complacent, I have to say, they appeared and no aggressive actions even though we were clearly within range. But also while I was there I've been seeing continuing, very close cooperation between the Peshmerga, the local fighters on the ground here, the Iraqi Kurds and the U.S. special forces. We know that special forces have been playing a key role throughout operations, not just in the south of Iraq, but here, of course, in the north and these air strikes we've been seeing over the past couple of weeks have been called in by Special Force operations on the ground acting as forward air controllers, really giving the coordinates on the ground distinguishing between Peshmerga Iraqi Kurd help territory and these positions where the Iraqi soldiers are still in possession of territory, are still holding the forward air controllers, bringing in close air support to take out artillery pieces and other substantive Iraqi military equipment.

We're not seeing any breakthrough on the ground from the north yet. We know there's a lot of interest by the Iraqi Kurds, the Iraqi opposition as a whole to move against Kirkuk and Mosul, those key northern cities. But as yet no move against that and as yet, no move along this northeastern corridor towards Baghdad. But I don't expect the situation to remain as static as this for very much longer -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Brent Sadler, thank you for that latest update from northern Iraq. We'll be back with you.

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