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American Morning

Special Edition: War in Iraq -- 3-7th Cav Under Fire

Aired April 06, 2003 - 10:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Leon, thank you and welcome back to Kuwait City. I'm Bill Hemmer on this Sunday. Even though U.S. forces say they're now encircling Baghdad, it has not been without a price. Walt Rodgers reporting that the 3-7th Cavalry has been coming under heavy fire all day again today. CENTCOM says that unit swept through the southern third of Baghdad earlier on Sunday.
Troops in Baghdad getting close air support in the air. At least two coalition aircraft will be above the city, around the clock 24 hours a day for the rest of this war. In fact, the air is so thick with warplanes that pilots say one of their main concerns is not running into each other.

In the south, British forces tightening that circle around Basra, Iraq's second largest city. Royal Commandos say they have secured part of central Basra and troop are ridding the homes, they say, of people who are suspected of either being Fedayeen Saddam or members of the Ba'ath Party. A lot of developments again today as you can imagine. Heidi Collins, back with us as well.

Heidi, good morning to you.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. That's right. We are going to check some of the other late war developments now. Russian and U.S. officials said a convoy carrying Russian diplomats, including Russia's ambassador to Iraq, was attacked while on its way to Syria. U.S. Central Command says no coalition forces were operating in that area and that the attack probably came from Iraqi irregulars.

In northern Iraq, CNN's Jane Arraf traveling with Kurdish troops near Mosul says Kurdish fighters were forced to hold up because of Iraqi armor. They called in an air strike that knocked out four Iraqi tanks and two armored personnel carriers.

And a happy reunion at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. Parents of rescued Army Private Jessica Lynch arrived from West Virginia and got to see their daughter early today.

In Fort Bliss, Texas, meanwhile, a memorial service is getting under way at this hour for seven other members of Jessica's unit. A very difficult time for that entire area, I'm sure.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Yes, Heidi, thank you. Listen, we talked about Jane Arraf last hour. At the time when Jane was reporting, there was there an air strike coming very close to her position. She's back with us again.

Jane, I understand it's still going on. What's happening now?

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Bill, it's been an extraordinary scene behind us. They have been calling in air strikes almost constantly for the last few hours. These are F-14s dropping 2,000-pound bombs on Iraqi positions and Iraqi tanks. Now, it's a bit of a lull right now, but just a few moments ago, the most deafening explosion as they targeted another tank.

Now, this is just down the road from the scene of that tragedy, what appeared to be friendly fire. A bomb dropping on a convoy of mostly Peshmerga, the Kurdish fighters who are fighting with U.S. troops. And on the ground, we've learned that 12 Peshmerga have died and 45 have been injured. Among the seriously injured is a senior military commander, in fact, a brother of the key leader of this part of northern Iraq. Now, we also understand that there have been American troops killed in that friendly fire incident, but people on the ground here, the soldiers who treated the injured, said they didn't see any of them -- Bill.

HEMMER: Yes, Jane, quickly here, any idea how strong the Iraqi forces are on the other side of that line and is it believed they're regular army or Republican Guard?

ARRAF: It's not clear whether they're Republican Guard or a regular Army, but what is clear is that the tanks that came up this morning caught -- were enough of a threat that the U.S. forces pulled back somewhat. They didn't have air cover at the time. When they did get that air support, they managed to go forward again and they're planning to move positions, to move the frontline even further right now. But certainly this daylong battle has been over those tanks dug in and they've taken out, so far, at least four tanks, possibly five as well as armored personnel carriers. So clearly, there is still a significant and threatening military presence very close to here -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jane, thanks. Jane Arraf in northern Iraq.

Let's move further south right now to Baghdad and west of that city. Last hour Walt Rodgers breaking the news live here on CNN that the U.S. Army now believes they've encircled the city of Baghdad. Walt's back with more on that now.

Walt, good evening.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. U.S. Army sources have told CNN that all of the highways into and out of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, have now been closed by U.S. forces, most of them by the Army, but now the Marines have moved into the northeast quadrants and the -- or excuse me, northeast and southeast roads going into the city. So the phrase that the officer who briefed me used was "completely encircled." He said there is no traffic going into the city or no traffic coming out -- quote -- "if you want to live."

Now, earlier today, the same officer told me elements of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division conducted yet another armed reconnaissance mission into Baghdad. That is more armored units driving into Baghdad essentially flexing U.S. muscle, lending the remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime know that the Americans can move at will in the Iraqi capital.

The 7th Cavalry, the unit with which I'm embedded with just west of the city, has seen heavy fighting, particularly overnight. But throughout the day there have been snipers trying to bang away a few tanks, also trying to approach 7th Cavalry, of course, with no success at all. What we have been told is that the 7th Cavalry is beginning to make contact with the local civilian populations in the suburbs west of the city, and the reason for doing that is they're trying to get the local civilians to help collaborate, if you will, and tell the Americans where the Fedayeens, the most fanatic of Saddam's fighters, are hiding out. One little tidbit of information they picked up is that during the day the Fedayeen, the Iraqi militants, are now taking refuge in schools and then they come out and shoot at night, shooting at the American units, particularly the 7th Cavalry in the western suburbs, which in some respects are pretty much the wild, wild west -- Bill.

HEMMER: Yes, Walt, listen, these numbers that we're getting about the number of Iraqi soldiers dead yesterday and one day alone of fighting, upwards of 3,000 Iraqi soldiers in and around Baghdad. Does that synchronize what you're hearing there as well?

RODGERS: That's a much bigger picture than I have a focus on. I can't tell you how many Iraqi soldiers inside the city of Baghdad were killed. The eyewitness reports from journalists that I heard coming -- traveling with the Army at the time said there were many Iraqi soldiers lying dead. Three thousand is more than we've seen killed, although the numbers of Iraqi dead go some days in the hundreds, some days in scores.

But the Iraqi soldiers who stick their heads up and continue to come out and attack the 7th Cavalry do get killed. They just simply call in the high explosive mortars, the 120-mm mortars. They have 20 dead Iraqis here, 40 dead Iraqis there, a company of Iraqi tanks knocked out. This has been a real killing field. I can't confirm that number, 3,000 in the last 24 hours. But I do know that the 7th Cavalry has wreaked real carnage around the past four days on the western suburbs of Baghdad. Although three thousand is a number I can't confirm -- Bill.

HEMMER: Yes. In some cases it does appear to be an absolute slaughter. Walt, quickly, I don't have much time for this. That Russian convoy that was attacked by someone earlier today, you've got a bit better clarification from your perspective. What are they saying about what happened with those diplomats when they came under fire?

RODGERS: Commanding officers...

HEMMER: OK. I think we lost Walt there. Our apologies. There he is.

RODGERS: ... move through the general sector.

HEMMER: All right. Walt, we had a little bit of an -- we had a little bit of an -- it's OK, keep going.

RODGERS: Officers with whom I spoke said the U.S. Army did not fire on that convoy of Russian diplomats trying to leave the city and go to either Damascus or Amman. That being the case, the Americans are saying they did know that the Russian diplomats were fired upon. They said that they did not know if there were any injuries. But the fire came from the general direction of the Iraqi irregulars who have been shooting all of the time at anything that moved from the roads.

Again, it was a bad decision for the Russian diplomats to try to flee Baghdad without protective military cover. No one should travel on these roads and certainly not a non-Iraqi -- not even Russian diplomats should travel on these roads or attempt travel on the roads. Even in the best of times when Saddam Hussein was alive any convoy there was often held up by shot -- held up by bandits along these roads. This is rough country. As I say, it's very much the Wild Wild West and I think that's what the Russian diplomats ran into. It was definitely not the Army according to Army sources -- Bill.

HEMMER: Got it. Thanks for the clarification. Thanks for hanging in there. We lost it. We got it back. The second time he did work. Walt Rogers again near Baghdad -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Bill, we are going to get a strategic look now at what is happening in Baghdad. We're joined from Washington by retired Army Colonel, Patrick Lang. He's been -- he has a long background in defense intelligence.

Thanks so much for being here, Colonel Lang.

COLONEL PATRICK LANG, U.S. ARMY (RET): My pleasure.

COLLINS: I'd like to start by asking you about a statement that we heard on Iraqi TV today. And here's what it was. It was read by a news anchor in uniform attributing the statement to Saddam Hussein. It said, "To all the fighters of armed forces, if a fighter cannot be with his unit for some reason, he needs to report to any available division with which he can fight with." What does this mean for the Iraqi fighters?

LANG: Well, I think they have followed a policy from the beginning of telling their people that if your unit is broken up or if you're overrun and just change into civilian clothes and go join the nearest band of guerrilla fighters. Do everything you can do to harass the Americans and the British and to wear them down by inflicting casualties. So I think this is a kind of a peace with what they've been doing right along. I don't think it's a change. It's indicative of their general policy.

COLLINS: So would you say then that CENTCOM statements that no cohesion exists within the Iraqi command and control would be accurate, then?

LANG: I think they've got it a little wrong or at least they're not saying it exactly the way I understand it because it appears to me that what they did is, they decided in advance that there's no way they could mount a mobile defense against us across the country, and so, they issued standing instructions to all these people as to what the general policy would be, which is what I just said. Their big mistake was that they tried to hold a linear defense in front of Baghdad and they should have known that our air power would just tear them to pieces.

The big surprise here is the fact that in addition to that our ground forces have been fighting continuously since the beginning of the campaign, dispatched these people with such ease. In spite of their very courageous efforts to attack us, the Iraqis, in my opinion, are being killed every day, their troops, by the thousands and thousands. I think CENTCOM is actually underestimating the number of people we've been killing.

COLLINS: As far as the hunt for Saddam Hussein, how do you think the coalition is doing on that note?

LANG: Well, you know, I'm sure that this is a high priority thing. If we could get rid of this guy, everybody would like to believe that this could come to an end and maybe it would. So I'm sure that we've got a lot of people in Baghdad looking for him on the ground hooked up with Iraqi resistance. Everybody is listening to Iraqi signals, or what there might be of it, to try to obtain some kind of a clue as to what his location is. And I think the general conclusion is he's really alive. So the first chance we get any real sort of indication where he is, we're going to hit that place real hard.

COLLINS: Final, Colonel Lang, along that same line, does the amount of Iraqi resistance that coalition forces have encountered serve as some sort of indication as to the strength of the Iraqi leadership now?

LANG: Well, I think that -- as I said before, what you're seeing, you're seeing a lot of rather inept and ineffective and very ferocious resistance to our forces. And the fact that that continues and they keep trying to rebuild some sort of position indicates that there's some kind of cohesive political entity at the center which is driving that process. So there still is a government there, which has to be eliminated.

COLLINS: I'm still trying to figure out who's running the show. All right. Colonel Patrick Lang, thanks for being with us this morning. We appreciate your insight.

LANG: Sure.

COLLINS: Back to Bill Hemmer in Kuwait now.

HEMMER: All right. Heidi, listen, we all know and CENTCOM says it every day, the threat of chemical and biological attacks still remains. The U.S. is still yet to take or remove the possibility of an attack in that area. At one air base in south central Iraq -- we'll take you there in a moment -- of how the U.S. members there -- U.S. troops are protecting themselves against what many consider to be the invisible enemy. Back in a moment with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Just about 10:15 a.m. back in the East Coast of the U.S. Coming up on about 5:00, 5:15 here in Kuwait. If you are just joining us, I want to recap right now, quickly, some of the major developments over the past several hours and for that we turn to Leon Harris again.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: 1:14 a.m., CNN's Rym Brahimi reports that Baghdad residents endured another night of heavy bombing. This as Iraqi authorities announced that all entrances to Baghdad would be closed from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. effective Sunday night.

1:55 a.m., CNN's Martin Savidge reports Marines are slowly moving through the southeast suburbs of Baghdad and says he has seen a burned out U.S. tank and a lot of Iraqi bodies, evidence that forward elements are seeing heavy resistance.

3:13 a.m., from CNN's Kathleen Koch, Pentagon officials say that U.S. forces would operate when they want and where they want despite any closure of entrances to Baghdad.

5:40 a.m., Tom Mintier reports the bodyguard of Chemical Ali, a top Hussein aid, accused of gassing Kurdish villagers in 1988 has been found dead in the rubble of an airstrike that destroyed Ali's home. There's no word on Ali's fate.

6:33 a.m., CNN's James Martone reports from northern Iraq where the BBC reports that a U.S. warplane mistakenly dropped a bomb on a U.S./Kurdish convoy. The report says at least 10 people died and many more were injured.

6:36 a.m., Iraq's information minister says in fighting around Baghdad's international airport, Iraqi forces killed 50 coalition troops and destroyed or severely damaged 16 tanks.

7:01 a.m., U.S. Central Command says the coalition force is growing stronger every day and the outcome of Operation Iraqi Freedom is not in doubt.

HEMMER: Leon, thanks again for that update on that.

I want to get you back to south central Iraq. It was about two weeks ago when the U.S. captured this air base in the southern part of the country. Although it is a long way from the frontlines of fighting that is ongoing today, especially around Baghdad, it is still under the threat and the possibility of some sort of chemical or biological attack. Harris Whitbeck is there for us and filed this report on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Detect any known agent.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Paul Salsada (ph) has a critical job at this Iraqi air base now taken over by coalition forces. He is an expert on chemical and biological warfare. His job is to protect the forces here against that potential.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we can detect from up to five kilometers and we can actually predict which way the vapor hazard is traveling.

WHITBECK: The threat level at this base was lowered on Saturday, allowing service members to take off the chemical suits they've been wearing for days. But those in charge of keeping the base safe are not relaxing, not yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has decreased but it's not gone away. So I have my systems up running 24 hours a day so we can detect something if it was to happen.

WHITBECK: The U.S. Army is in charge of detection and decontamination that uses sophisticated and highly mobile technology.

(on camera): Vehicles like these are among the first lines of defense in case of chemical or biological warfare. The information gathered here is used to warn those who might be in harm's way.

(voice-over): They operate in the battlefield or in areas like this one where discoveries made when the base was taken over made many people nervous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were reports all throughout the air base. There were all kinds of MBC gear in most of these buildings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found two different kinds of masks. One is an aviator mask that has a full frontal face shield.

WHITBECK: The Iraqi protection here was handed over to Iraqi POWs currently being held at the base so they too could be protected in case of attack. The possibility of chemical and biological attacks is very much on the minds of the base's current occupants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's there. We're still waiting. Hopefully, they don't use it. If all we do is sit here and all we do is do our job and we're not very busy, that's good. But if we get busy, that's kind of a bad thing, so hopefully we will remain status quo.

WHITBECK: A fervent wish from soldiers who have already dramatically altered the status quo here.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, in south central Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Now to the central part of the country and the battle for Baghdad, what's happening inside this city and what sort of strategy may unfold now? In a moment, we'll talk with one man who just might know. Back in a moment with that when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: A bit difficult to know exactly what's happening in the interior of Baghdad, what's happening on the streets of that city of 5 million people. Riad Kahwaji may know. He's the Middle East bureau chief for Defense News and he's back with us again today live from Central Command down in Qatar.

Riad, thanks for coming back. We spoke two days ago. At the time, you had some fascinating information as the people you were talking with on the ground, inside the city of Baghdad, and what they were experiencing. Have you made contact with them yet again and if so, what are they saying today on Sunday?

RIAD KAHWAJI, DEFENSE NEWS: Yes, I have made contact with them. They are beginning to feel the difference between night now and the nights before. There is more fighting, constant fighting, very close to their quarters, to their houses, around the city. They are beginning to feel a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear in the streets. Many people trying to get out of the city, but they were told today that there's been some sort of a curfew set, all exits and the fact that it will be closed as of today between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 in the morning. This would control a lot of the movement. This would result in keeping many people inside town. They see more tanks rolling on the streets, taking up positions in various places. There's a strong sense of fear and anxiety amongst the population of Iraq, of Baghdad.

HEMMER: Yes. And listen, the Army is right now telling us, Riad, as you well know, that they've circled the town almost completely, cutting out every major road -- route, rather, inside that city, which may couple with perhaps the reason why this curfew has now been imposed. You mentioned the tanks. I'm assuming that's Iraqi tanks. Have they told you about any U.S. presence they've noted so far?

KAHWAJI: No, none so far. I mean, so far, what they saw was the Iraqi tanks, Iraqi artillery and the Iraqi field artillery, talking here about artillery with the caliber of 130-millimeter, some up to 152-millimeter artillery pieces with multiple rocket launchers deployed in various places and in various corners of the Iraqi capital. It's a big capital. It's a big city.

The neighborhoods -- the terrain in the neighborhoods differ. You have some that are very cool, shantytown style. You have others that are modern downtown with high buildings. There would be a lot of different kind of terrains and each one would carry its own kind of perils for both the residents as well as for the coalition forces if they decide to move and destroy the city.

HEMMER: Riad, listen, what is your measure right now? What is your estimation about how this battle may unfold? Do you see every Iraqi soldier fighting to the end? Do you see some sort of capitulation? Or at what point do we see house to house if it comes to that? KAHWAJI: Look, urban warfare and guerrilla warfare very much rely on how much support you have or the Iraqis in this case, the Iraqi forces would have from the population. It's the will and the desire of the population to fight back that would keep them in their places entrenched and resisting. If this will and desire of the population fades away and they feel that it's a lost cause and they will not fight back, whatever is left of Iraqi forces will slowly disintegrate, disappear and give up. So it is -- all goes down to a war of wills, if you may call it, and also a war of information between the coalition and the Iraqi who is more convincing in selling his cause to the Iraqi people and to residents of Baghdad. Do they still want the regime? Do they still want to defend this regime? If they are convinced otherwise, they will cease to resist and whatever loyalists do, the regime, they are on the streets, they will just move away. They will just stop fighting back and may surrender.

HEMMER: All right. Day 18, quickly moving toward Day 19. It will be sundown in Baghdad in about an hour's time and we will see what happens at nightfall. Riad Kahwaji, again, from CENTCOM, thanks again, with the Defense News down there in Qatar.

Heidi, again, in Atlanta.

COLLINS: Thank you, Bill.

Seventy-nine names now appear on the Pentagon's list of troops killed during the war and as their remains are brought home, families and friends and communities across America are remembering loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: War is really ugly and not without costs. Today is a day of remembering with honor Marine Lance Corporal Eric Orlowski.

They were in defense of the country and they died protecting and defending the values we cherish today, but freedom must cost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The worst part for them is they get really tired of waiting and worrying and everything, but now she's going to be coming home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She will not be forgotten. And it gives us comfort to know that she is at peace right now. We are very proud of Lori. Our family is very proud of her. She is our hero. We continue to believe that. We're going to hold that in our hearts forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he always told me to never give up on things and I've always admired him a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The price of liberty and the price of freedom is always a major sacrifice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chad was a good candidate for the Marine Corps. He was gung ho in everything he did. He gave 100 percent. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was the kind of kid you liked to have around because he was full of energy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And may we never forget that behind each man there is a story of a life, a story of hopes, dreams and love.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning, Leon Harris here in the CNN newsroom. Here's what's happening this hour. After a two-day siege in Baghdad, a U.S. military official tells CNN that the city is now surrounded by U.S. forces. Coalition troops are said to have sealed all roads in and out of the capital.

And the Pentagon says it will operate when and where it wants to in Baghdad. You see live pictures here as it is 6:30 p.m. in Baghdad. Now, this comment from the Pentagon is in response to reports that Iraq itself has imposed a nighttime curfew in the capital. Iraq says it is forbidding travel in Baghdad from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

Well, CENTCOM is investigating whether friendly fire is to blame for killing 12 Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq. Kurdish officials say that a convoy carrying Kurds and U.S. Special Forces was struck by a coalition bomb today. No word if any U.S. soldiers, if they were wounded or killed in that incident here.

And words of warning from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. He says that Syria -- quote -- "will be held accountable" -- unquote -- for supporting Iraq against a U.S. led invasion. Wolfowitz also talked about the creation of a new Iraqi government early this morning. He said that it would take at least six months for one to put in place after Saddam Hussein's regime is defeated. CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq continues right here, right now.

HEMMER: And good afternoon again, live here in Kuwait City. Good to have you with us on this Sunday. We are told right now all roads in and out of Baghdad are closed by U.S. forces. Walt Rodgers reporting that the city is surrounded and that U.S. commanders say anyone who wants to stay alive should stay off the roads. Walter also tells us U.S. forces starting to reach out to locals in the western parts of Baghdad, hoping to identify Fedayeen fighters. Those fighters continue to be one of the biggest dangers for U.S. forces and for, we are told, Iraqi civilians as well.

U.S. Marines going house to house in areas as they make their way through the outer suburbs of Baghdad, moving even closer now to the city's center. Martin Savidge reports the unit he's with is fighting isolated skirmishes with paramilitary groups -- military groups, rather, that are mixed in with civilians.

Central Command in Qatar showed us some video today again. The U.S. Special Operations forces and they parachuted into an unspecified part of Iraq to secure an airfield. Brigadier General Vincent Brooks saying that Special Ops forces working with Iraqis throughout the country who are against Saddam Hussein's regime.

Time again to bring in Heidi Collins at the CNN Center.

Heidi, good morning again.

COLLINS: Good morning again to you, Bill. Let's go ahead and check some of the other late war developments now. Our Diana Muriel reports from Basra that British troops there are strengthening their hold on that city. They credit, in part, an air strike that knocked out key Ba'ath Party members or leaders in the city. Among them was the bodyguard of the man known as Chemical Ali. His fate at this time is unknown.

CNN's Jane Arraf on the road to Mosul with Kurdish troops says U.S. F-14s have been dropping 2,000-pound bombs on Iraqi positions. That action taking place not far from the friendly fire incident Leon mentioned just a moment ago.

And U.S. Central Command says U.S. troops who overran a training camp southeast of Baghdad found fighters from Egypt and Sudan who came to fight for Saddam Hussein. General Vincent Brooks said some of those fighters were killed; others were captured.

Back now to Bill in Kuwait.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. The 1st Battalion 7th Marines, that's where Marty Savidge has been embedded for just about four weeks running right now. Last hour, Marty filed this report. He is working his way again, southeastern part of Baghdad. Here's what he found earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As they have for the past three days, the Marines continue to drive into the southeastern suburbs of Baghdad and as they do, they have been encountering pockets of resistance. This is sporadic fighting that does not occur all the time, but does flair up from place to place and they had been moving into more built up areas and that is complicating things for the movement of the convoys.

Other units have pushed ahead, but now the 1st Battalion 7th Marines in this specific area where we were at has been tasked with job of clean up, trying to find where the resistance is coming from. Who is it? The search and destroy missions, as they call it. The difficulty, of course, is they are now mixed in with the civilian population. Opposing forces are using that to their advantage. For the Marines, they have to be very careful now. They have to be careful that they select their targets and make sure that the targets they aim at are in fact hostiles while the innocent civilians are not caught in the way.

It is house-to-house searches at some times. A very poignant scene at one point, that cameraman, Scott McWhinney (ph) found, as these Marines moved in on a house. Now, we do have translators, but not all of the units have translators. They came across this one family. It's through voice and through hand gestures that they try to get them out of the house and they do. But it's clear, you can tell, that the family is terrified of the presence of these Marines.

Now, the Marines also, as you may notice in this video, are keeping their weapons well away. They are not pointing them at the women and children and the men of this family and they are trying to assure them that it's for their own safety. The Marines have been receiving fire from this specific area. They are trying to simply search in and around the home and once that is completed, the family was allowed to return back to their house.

Meanwhile, though, in the backyards and the back allies and the side streets, it's a different story. At times, infantry units were fired upon. They call in artillery, which is used to take out some of the heavier fortified positions of Iraqi opposition. This is the way it has gone for the past three days and may continue like that for some time.

However, last night, a special find. The 1st Battalion 7th Marines managed to capture three members of the special Iraqi Republican Guard. These were men that were identified because of the I.D. cards that they had with them. They weren't wearing uniforms, but they did have them in the backseat of the vehicle as well as their weapons. The three men now are being interrogated and reportedly cooperating with the Marines. It is hard, difficult, dangerous work, within the forefront of their minds, always protecting Iraqi civilians.

Martin Savidge, CNN, southeast of Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: All right. I want to bring it also on the battlefield yet again. Scott Nelson's a writer for "The Boston Globe." Scott's been checking in by way of telephone for the past one week running.

Scott, yesterday, I believe, when we talked you were south of city. Now I understand you might be northeast of Baghdad. Where are you as best as you can tell us right now, given the permission and the guidelines we're working off here and what's happening?

SCOTT NELSON, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": Sure. The group I'm with moved to the north and east a little bit today as the American forces sort of consolidate their grip around the city. They've -- you know they've moved units around and they've repositioned people, but the situation largely appears to remain unchanged. The fighting is at a much lower level at this point.

The one thing that I can add to the discussion today that changed dramatically is the unit I'm traveling with was actually ambushed today and found itself in a relatively fierce firefight for a little bit and that tells me one important thing that the Republican Guard maybe --- have retreated back into the city in large numbers. The open battles may be out of the way, but there is still guerrilla action very much active in the area. HEMMER: Scott, listen, we are getting reports from Walt Rodgers and others that Baghdad's been essentially surrounded. Do you have that same impression and report from there?

NELSON: I absolutely have that impression.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?

NELSON: Of course, the one limitation of being embedded is that you can't see very far in either direction from where your battalion happens to be. But from where I'm sitting, it certainly looks like the American forces have Baghdad in a fairly tight noose at this point.

HEMMER: And what can you tell us then about these chunks that the city is supposed to be divided up in in terms of jurisdiction? From your perspective, with the Marines, how would that happen with your unit?

NELSON: The truth is, my unit is an artillery battalion, so it wouldn't happen at all. They're not involved in that partitioning process. With these being Howitzer canons they have, they can stay a few miles outside the city and that's as close as they ever need to get. So I can't provide much insight on who's partitioning up, what kind of neighborhoods and how that neighborhood-by-neighborhood development is going in the city. I'm sorry. I just can't speak to that.

HEMMER: No problem. Scott, listen, one other thing we're getting here is that up to 3,000 Iraqi soldiers may have been killed in fighting yesterday alone. If that number holds up, it would appear to be an extremely high casualty count for the Iraqis. Based on what you're hearing, does that come close to what you're reporting and have you seen evidence that would lead you to believe this is the case?

NELSON: In this area, I have not seen evidence of that scale of fighting. What I have seen a lot of are Republican Guard tanks and vehicles that appear in many cases to have been abandoned and left as the people who have been driving them probably flee into the city. They dropped their clothes; their weapons and they just take off. In other cases, I have seen a number of, certainly, smoking tanks and I've seen a lot of bunkers that appear to have been blown out. So certainly, there was fighting in this area and certainly, Iraqi soldiers did die. Whether or not it's on that scale, I just haven't seen that kind of fighting in this part of Baghdad in the last couple of days.

HEMMER: All right. OK, Scott, thanks for checking in again. Scott Nelson is a writer with "The Boston Globe." I am certain we will talk at some point again tomorrow.

Here's Heidi again -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Bill, there is a memorial service underway right now this morning at Fort Bliss, Texas, for the members of the 507th Maintenance Company. They were in a convoy that was attacked on March 23. Their bodies were recovered from a hospital in Nasiriyah during the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, their comrade. We have Ed Lavandera standing by live now to tell us more about that.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, the church service that is under way here is one of the regularly scheduled Sunday services. There will be an official memorial service for the soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company scheduled for next week, on Friday. There hasn't been a time or exact place that has been released as of yet.

But the church services here this morning, much more poignant considering what has been going on in the last two weeks. For two weeks this base, this military family here, has been paying close attention to the situation and the news on Friday -- late Friday night that eight soldiers or seven soldiers that had been killed in an ambush just outside of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, the days that Jessica Lynch was rescued, came as disheartening news, to say the least. But there's also still a lot of hope here. There are five other soldiers that are considered to be prisoners-of-war, so that has given the military family here at Fort Bliss reason to remain hopeful and pray for the safe return of those.

The bishop of El Paso conducting the service here this morning, saying that they're praying for the mercy of the souls of those soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company and also praying for the comfort for the families that have been left behind here at Fort Bliss, who are waiting for not only of the soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company, but all of the soldiers' families that have been deployed and praying for their comfort in this difficult time for them.

And if you look over my shoulder here at the Fort Bliss base, this is Memorial Field you see. This is just across the street from the chapel where the church service is going on here this morning. The flag of the POW/MIA flag as well. This is the way the flags have been here at half-staff since the news of -- late Friday night of the 507th Maintenance Company. The soldiers had been found dead outside of that hospital in Nasiriyah, so definitely a sense of sadness here on this base. But there's also a remainder of hope because they do know that they still have to pray for the other five soldiers that are considered to be prisoners-of-war at this time and that's given a lot of folks here reason to remain hopeful -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That's good to hear, Ed. Just one quick clarification, you said this was a regular Sunday service and the actual memorial service for the 507th is next week, is that what I heard you say?

LAVANDERA: Yes, that's scheduled for Friday. And as I mentioned a little while ago, the exact time and date and location of that memorial service hasn't been announced yet. But it will be here on the base, and military officials here on this base have also told us that that will likely be open to the public, which will probably be good news for many of the folks here in the El Paso area who have been paying so much close attention to this story since it broke two weeks ago -- Heidi.

COLLINS: A very strong community indeed. All right. Ed Lavandera from Fort Bliss, Texas, thank you.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Listen, we've talked a lot about the interior of Baghdad. The report is indeed the case that we're getting about an encirclement of the Iraqi capital. What then is happening on the inside with regard to Special Operation forces? We'll talk about that with our expert from the U.S. Army right after this.

ANNOUNCER: For more on the war in Iraq, log on to CNN.com. Get reports from the frontlines and all the facts and features you need to track the war. Plus, sign up for breaking news alerts and be the first to know. Log on and stay informed at CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: We are back here live in Kuwait. Clearly, the battle has been focused right now over the past 48 to 72 two hours on the city of Baghdad. What then, what is the role of Special Operations forces right now operating either inside the city or around it? Let's talk about that with Colonel Patrick Lang, U.S. Army Retired. He's back in Washington D.C.

Colonel, welcome back here to CNN on this Sunday. Give us an idea about what you think right now. The role of Special Forces inside the city right now could be what at this point?

LANG: Well, I think this is all about ground-level observation. Strategic reconnaissance is a major mission of Special Ops and if you're an intelligence analyst at Land Forces Command or CENTCOM, Central Command, you need to develop a picture of Baghdad that drives from a lot of different sources -- signals, satellite photography, drones, but you need -- especially need something which is at ground level and which is continuous. And even if it's only in a couple of streets, it's there all of the time. And if you take that information, which shows you what's going on in the streets and fit it together with everything else you have, you develop a pretty complete picture of activity in the city, which is absolutely needed to support these armored strikes into the cities and further attempts at decapitation of the regime, things like that.

HEMMER: You know, Colonel, listen, the view we're getting here in Kuwait from our embedded reporters that this war again has been a very lopsided affair especially over the past seven to 10 days running. If it is so lopsided at this point, within the city walls itself, within the city of Baghdad, what kind of resistance would Special Ops be facing right now?

LANG: Well, hopefully none. You know if you're a Special Forces soldier or a guy from Delta or a SEAL or something like that and you're in the city working with friendly Iraqis because you have to be in order to have some place to hide, you don't want to be engaged at all. If they locate you and they start to chase you, they're going to run you down. So we don't want there to be any resistance at all. We want this to be a very one-sided process.

HEMMER: Yes. Listen, we were talking with an expert with Defense News down in Qatar a short time ago and he's in touch with his people on the ground in Baghdad. They said they do spot either Republican Guard forces, special Republican Guard forces, tanks on the streets of Baghdad, not in great numbers, we're told, but they have been spotted and shown and seen there. A question to you about your own assessment right now. How do you rate right now the effectiveness of the Iraqi military inside the city?

LANG: Not very effective, really. I mean the Iraqis have shown a good deal of spirit and the willingness to resist and be killed off in the process. But in fact, they're still firmly locked militarily in an image of war that derives from World War II and they're completely unable to cope with our forces, either our air or our ground forces. So they're trying to put together whatever kind of scratch force they can inside the city to fight us. And I'd be willing to bet you if we keep pushing them, they're just going to fall apart.

HEMMER: You really think so? Just like Basra, I guess with the reports we're getting earlier today with the British going to the heart of that city?

LANG: Yes, just on a larger scale, I would think, in fact. You know I think probably -- I would share the belief that I've heard that I don't think the people of Baghdad are going to come out en masse in order to fight the U.S. Army or the Marines. But what's going on happen is that regime forces inside the city will continue to try to resist and we're just going to take them apart as we've been doing right along.

HEMMER: Colonel Patrick Lang from D.C., U.S. Army, retired. Thank you, Colonel. We'll talk to you again.

LANG: You're welcome.

HEMMER: Here's Heidi again -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Thank you, Bill.

U.S. planes have begun 24-hour surveillance over Baghdad in a new strategy designed to protect coalition troops. CNN had the first network crew allowed on one of these flights and since then the missions have been declared too dangerous to permit news crews onboard. Kyra Phillips filed this exclusive report from the skies over Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We won't consider the mission a success unless the Marines are happy with the product.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are coalition bodyguards over Baghdad, an airborne shield to U.S. Marines. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let them know what's coming. Let them know if anything's coming back behind them on their flanks and close off their supply lines.

PHILLIPS: You are now airborne over Iraq with commander Steve Kroto's (ph) Gray Knights, the Navy's P-3 Eyes in the Sky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any kind of forces that looks like they may be threatening the Marines, you know, we want to let them know. And we have the capability to send pictures or actual video and then they can make the decisions if they want to maybe avoid that area or go ahead and go out and engage those folks.

PHILLIPS: Dodging missiles and AAA afire is something new to this squadron, however, protecting forces on ground, isn't.

(on camera): These men are about three hours into their mission and the sun is starting to set. They've just come across one of the Marine convoys that they need to track, so they're watching every move that the Marines make as they move towards Baghdad, making sure they don't come across any type of threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting closer to it.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Also on this mission, Marine Colonel Jim Lukeman (ph) and Sergeant Emilio Hernandez. They are tracking and talking to their fellow Marines on the ground...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two vehicles moving across the bridge.

PHILLIPS: ... making sure they don't get ambushed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm looking for enemy positions up to the front. We'll look at the routes ahead of where our guys are going to go and try to see what enemy is there.

PHILLIPS: Lukeman (ph) is warning his troops about a bridge ahead. He doesn't like what he sees. The Gray Knights fly closer and grab a clearer picture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's some vehicular traffic, so that we know the bridge is still intact. They may be Iraqi military. So now that the Marine division on the ground has that information, they'll take action tactically on it.

PHILLIPS: These flights can last up to 15 hours, but it's the minutes of real-time intelligence that completes the mission.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you're on the ground fighting, every piece of information you've got about what you're coming up against is golden.

PHILLIPS: Commander Steve Kroto (ph) brings this crew home after locating Iraqi positions and surface-to-surface missiles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It keeps the Marines safe. And one more safe Marine is one more Marine that can continue on north to Baghdad.

PHILLIPS: Flying over Iraq, Kyra Phillips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Coming up, remembering Lori Piestewa. Her family's priest talks about the woman they're remembering as a mother, a Hopi and a hero. That's just ahead. Stay with us.

ANNOUNCER: CNN's continuing coverage of the war in Iraq, U.S. forces entered Baghdad for a second day while British forces report they've closed in on central Basra. A joyous reunion, the family of rescued POW, Jessica Lynch, finally sees here face-to-face. And reports of a friendly fire incident which may have led to Kurdish and American casualties is being investigated. Stay with CNN, the most trusted names in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: PFC Lori Piestewa is the first woman in the U.S. Armed Forces to die in this war and very likely the first Native American woman ever to die in combat. She was killed during or possibly after her unit was attacked near Nasiriyah two weeks ago. Father Godden Menaro of St. Jude's Catholic Church has been with her family. He joins us now from Tuba City, Arizona.

Father, good morning to you.

FATHER GODDEN MENARO, ST. JUDE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH: Good morning.

COLLINS: I'm wondering the first night that Lori's family heard about her death, actually about her missing first of all, they called you. How were you able to console them at that time of unknowingness?

MENARO: We had a prayer service for her that evening at 6:00. The family asked if they could come and if I would open the church and I said yes. And we were all surprised at how many people in the community came. Over 200 people attended and gave their condolences to the family. And of course, we all prayed for Lori that she would return.

COLLINS: I'm sure that response and that support from the community was helpful. How are they doing now? How is the family doing?

MENARO: The family is doing very well. They have very strong faith. They are holding up very well. They're really an inspiration to the rest of us.

COLLINS: And speaking of an inspiration, I believe that we heard from Lori's brother and he had some wonderful things to say about her. Let's go ahead and listen in to that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYLAND PIESTEWA, LORI PIESTEWA'S BROTHER: We are very proud of Lori. Our family is very proud of her. We know she's our hero, as you've heard before. We are continuing to believe that. We're going to hold that in our hearts forever and she will not be forgotten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We have seen the American flag and the POW flag and the yellow ribbons tied around the trees near their home. How else has the community reacted to this news?

MENARO: I'd say the community reacted very well, surprisingly. They came together, like you said, with the yellow ribbons and all kinds of ways of reminding people to pray for her and to hope for her recovery.

COLLINS: So you have a service coming up today, is that right? And if so, I'd love to know what, if anything, you'll be saying about Lori Ann.

MENARO: I'm going to say that I too am proud of her and I thank her for being willing to give her life for her country. I'm also going tell the people that they have been praying for two weeks now and if they have been praying in the right spirit, asking God if it's his will that she come back, that now they will be content with the fact that she's not able to come.

COLLINS: It's very difficult, I'm sure, for everyone involved, including you. Father Godden Menaro, St. Jude's Catholic Church, Tuba City, Arizona, this morning, thanks for your time.

MENARO: Thank you.

COLLINS: And we'll be back after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: I want to get you back to Nasiriyah right now in south central Iraq and that hospital where Jessica Lynch was rescued late on Tuesday night of this past week. Now, Jason Bellini is with the Marines there, in fact, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and there are more discoveries at that hospital. Jason filed this report earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The children who'll never play soccer again. The expectant mother will be unable to lift her baby. The wounds that time won't heal. Wounded civilians in Iraq are harder for us embedded with the U.S. military to see and report on than the bright and thrilling explosions that hurt them.

Today, in Saddam Hospital in An Nasiriyah, we heard just a few of their stories. Twenty-year-old Hyder (ph) was eating breakfast when he heard a helicopter overhead, then, an explosion, which killed his brother, wounded his father and made him an amputee.

Fifteen-year-old Jesmak (ph) says he was walking down the street when a bomb hit nearby sending shrapnel into his arms and legs. The doctor who served as our guide and translator says that over 400 people have died in Nasiriyah since the war began, another 1,200 injured. The hospital, willfully unprepared, operating without enough power, water and medicine.

In Saddam Hospital, Saddam Hussein's pictures is two-thirds of the way down, but civilians suffering is far from over.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Nasiriyah, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Now, you see it coming up on 7:00 p.m. in Iraq. Coming up on 11:00 a.m. here on the East Coast of the U.S., 8:00 a.m. in the West. This is Sunday, April 6, the 18th day of the war in Iraq.

Coalition troops reentered Baghdad for a second day of reconnaissance missions and we are watching and waiting for more reports on that action.

Good morning folks from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Leon Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. And along with us this hour, Bill Hemmer, in Kuwait City.

Hi, Bill.

HEMMER: Hello, Heidi. Hello, Leon. Leon, as you mentioned, night falling again in Baghdad and Walt Rodgers reporting about two hours ago...

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BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Leon, thank you and welcome back to Kuwait City. I'm Bill Hemmer on this Sunday. Even though U.S. forces say they're now encircling Baghdad, it has not been without a price. Walt Rodgers reporting that the 3-7th Cavalry has been coming under heavy fire all day again today. CENTCOM says that unit swept through the southern third of Baghdad earlier on Sunday.
Troops in Baghdad getting close air support in the air. At least two coalition aircraft will be above the city, around the clock 24 hours a day for the rest of this war. In fact, the air is so thick with warplanes that pilots say one of their main concerns is not running into each other.

In the south, British forces tightening that circle around Basra, Iraq's second largest city. Royal Commandos say they have secured part of central Basra and troop are ridding the homes, they say, of people who are suspected of either being Fedayeen Saddam or members of the Ba'ath Party. A lot of developments again today as you can imagine. Heidi Collins, back with us as well.

Heidi, good morning to you.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill. That's right. We are going to check some of the other late war developments now. Russian and U.S. officials said a convoy carrying Russian diplomats, including Russia's ambassador to Iraq, was attacked while on its way to Syria. U.S. Central Command says no coalition forces were operating in that area and that the attack probably came from Iraqi irregulars.

In northern Iraq, CNN's Jane Arraf traveling with Kurdish troops near Mosul says Kurdish fighters were forced to hold up because of Iraqi armor. They called in an air strike that knocked out four Iraqi tanks and two armored personnel carriers.

And a happy reunion at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. Parents of rescued Army Private Jessica Lynch arrived from West Virginia and got to see their daughter early today.

In Fort Bliss, Texas, meanwhile, a memorial service is getting under way at this hour for seven other members of Jessica's unit. A very difficult time for that entire area, I'm sure.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Yes, Heidi, thank you. Listen, we talked about Jane Arraf last hour. At the time when Jane was reporting, there was there an air strike coming very close to her position. She's back with us again.

Jane, I understand it's still going on. What's happening now?

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Bill, it's been an extraordinary scene behind us. They have been calling in air strikes almost constantly for the last few hours. These are F-14s dropping 2,000-pound bombs on Iraqi positions and Iraqi tanks. Now, it's a bit of a lull right now, but just a few moments ago, the most deafening explosion as they targeted another tank.

Now, this is just down the road from the scene of that tragedy, what appeared to be friendly fire. A bomb dropping on a convoy of mostly Peshmerga, the Kurdish fighters who are fighting with U.S. troops. And on the ground, we've learned that 12 Peshmerga have died and 45 have been injured. Among the seriously injured is a senior military commander, in fact, a brother of the key leader of this part of northern Iraq. Now, we also understand that there have been American troops killed in that friendly fire incident, but people on the ground here, the soldiers who treated the injured, said they didn't see any of them -- Bill.

HEMMER: Yes, Jane, quickly here, any idea how strong the Iraqi forces are on the other side of that line and is it believed they're regular army or Republican Guard?

ARRAF: It's not clear whether they're Republican Guard or a regular Army, but what is clear is that the tanks that came up this morning caught -- were enough of a threat that the U.S. forces pulled back somewhat. They didn't have air cover at the time. When they did get that air support, they managed to go forward again and they're planning to move positions, to move the frontline even further right now. But certainly this daylong battle has been over those tanks dug in and they've taken out, so far, at least four tanks, possibly five as well as armored personnel carriers. So clearly, there is still a significant and threatening military presence very close to here -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jane, thanks. Jane Arraf in northern Iraq.

Let's move further south right now to Baghdad and west of that city. Last hour Walt Rodgers breaking the news live here on CNN that the U.S. Army now believes they've encircled the city of Baghdad. Walt's back with more on that now.

Walt, good evening.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. U.S. Army sources have told CNN that all of the highways into and out of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, have now been closed by U.S. forces, most of them by the Army, but now the Marines have moved into the northeast quadrants and the -- or excuse me, northeast and southeast roads going into the city. So the phrase that the officer who briefed me used was "completely encircled." He said there is no traffic going into the city or no traffic coming out -- quote -- "if you want to live."

Now, earlier today, the same officer told me elements of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division conducted yet another armed reconnaissance mission into Baghdad. That is more armored units driving into Baghdad essentially flexing U.S. muscle, lending the remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime know that the Americans can move at will in the Iraqi capital.

The 7th Cavalry, the unit with which I'm embedded with just west of the city, has seen heavy fighting, particularly overnight. But throughout the day there have been snipers trying to bang away a few tanks, also trying to approach 7th Cavalry, of course, with no success at all. What we have been told is that the 7th Cavalry is beginning to make contact with the local civilian populations in the suburbs west of the city, and the reason for doing that is they're trying to get the local civilians to help collaborate, if you will, and tell the Americans where the Fedayeens, the most fanatic of Saddam's fighters, are hiding out. One little tidbit of information they picked up is that during the day the Fedayeen, the Iraqi militants, are now taking refuge in schools and then they come out and shoot at night, shooting at the American units, particularly the 7th Cavalry in the western suburbs, which in some respects are pretty much the wild, wild west -- Bill.

HEMMER: Yes, Walt, listen, these numbers that we're getting about the number of Iraqi soldiers dead yesterday and one day alone of fighting, upwards of 3,000 Iraqi soldiers in and around Baghdad. Does that synchronize what you're hearing there as well?

RODGERS: That's a much bigger picture than I have a focus on. I can't tell you how many Iraqi soldiers inside the city of Baghdad were killed. The eyewitness reports from journalists that I heard coming -- traveling with the Army at the time said there were many Iraqi soldiers lying dead. Three thousand is more than we've seen killed, although the numbers of Iraqi dead go some days in the hundreds, some days in scores.

But the Iraqi soldiers who stick their heads up and continue to come out and attack the 7th Cavalry do get killed. They just simply call in the high explosive mortars, the 120-mm mortars. They have 20 dead Iraqis here, 40 dead Iraqis there, a company of Iraqi tanks knocked out. This has been a real killing field. I can't confirm that number, 3,000 in the last 24 hours. But I do know that the 7th Cavalry has wreaked real carnage around the past four days on the western suburbs of Baghdad. Although three thousand is a number I can't confirm -- Bill.

HEMMER: Yes. In some cases it does appear to be an absolute slaughter. Walt, quickly, I don't have much time for this. That Russian convoy that was attacked by someone earlier today, you've got a bit better clarification from your perspective. What are they saying about what happened with those diplomats when they came under fire?

RODGERS: Commanding officers...

HEMMER: OK. I think we lost Walt there. Our apologies. There he is.

RODGERS: ... move through the general sector.

HEMMER: All right. Walt, we had a little bit of an -- we had a little bit of an -- it's OK, keep going.

RODGERS: Officers with whom I spoke said the U.S. Army did not fire on that convoy of Russian diplomats trying to leave the city and go to either Damascus or Amman. That being the case, the Americans are saying they did know that the Russian diplomats were fired upon. They said that they did not know if there were any injuries. But the fire came from the general direction of the Iraqi irregulars who have been shooting all of the time at anything that moved from the roads.

Again, it was a bad decision for the Russian diplomats to try to flee Baghdad without protective military cover. No one should travel on these roads and certainly not a non-Iraqi -- not even Russian diplomats should travel on these roads or attempt travel on the roads. Even in the best of times when Saddam Hussein was alive any convoy there was often held up by shot -- held up by bandits along these roads. This is rough country. As I say, it's very much the Wild Wild West and I think that's what the Russian diplomats ran into. It was definitely not the Army according to Army sources -- Bill.

HEMMER: Got it. Thanks for the clarification. Thanks for hanging in there. We lost it. We got it back. The second time he did work. Walt Rogers again near Baghdad -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Bill, we are going to get a strategic look now at what is happening in Baghdad. We're joined from Washington by retired Army Colonel, Patrick Lang. He's been -- he has a long background in defense intelligence.

Thanks so much for being here, Colonel Lang.

COLONEL PATRICK LANG, U.S. ARMY (RET): My pleasure.

COLLINS: I'd like to start by asking you about a statement that we heard on Iraqi TV today. And here's what it was. It was read by a news anchor in uniform attributing the statement to Saddam Hussein. It said, "To all the fighters of armed forces, if a fighter cannot be with his unit for some reason, he needs to report to any available division with which he can fight with." What does this mean for the Iraqi fighters?

LANG: Well, I think they have followed a policy from the beginning of telling their people that if your unit is broken up or if you're overrun and just change into civilian clothes and go join the nearest band of guerrilla fighters. Do everything you can do to harass the Americans and the British and to wear them down by inflicting casualties. So I think this is a kind of a peace with what they've been doing right along. I don't think it's a change. It's indicative of their general policy.

COLLINS: So would you say then that CENTCOM statements that no cohesion exists within the Iraqi command and control would be accurate, then?

LANG: I think they've got it a little wrong or at least they're not saying it exactly the way I understand it because it appears to me that what they did is, they decided in advance that there's no way they could mount a mobile defense against us across the country, and so, they issued standing instructions to all these people as to what the general policy would be, which is what I just said. Their big mistake was that they tried to hold a linear defense in front of Baghdad and they should have known that our air power would just tear them to pieces.

The big surprise here is the fact that in addition to that our ground forces have been fighting continuously since the beginning of the campaign, dispatched these people with such ease. In spite of their very courageous efforts to attack us, the Iraqis, in my opinion, are being killed every day, their troops, by the thousands and thousands. I think CENTCOM is actually underestimating the number of people we've been killing.

COLLINS: As far as the hunt for Saddam Hussein, how do you think the coalition is doing on that note?

LANG: Well, you know, I'm sure that this is a high priority thing. If we could get rid of this guy, everybody would like to believe that this could come to an end and maybe it would. So I'm sure that we've got a lot of people in Baghdad looking for him on the ground hooked up with Iraqi resistance. Everybody is listening to Iraqi signals, or what there might be of it, to try to obtain some kind of a clue as to what his location is. And I think the general conclusion is he's really alive. So the first chance we get any real sort of indication where he is, we're going to hit that place real hard.

COLLINS: Final, Colonel Lang, along that same line, does the amount of Iraqi resistance that coalition forces have encountered serve as some sort of indication as to the strength of the Iraqi leadership now?

LANG: Well, I think that -- as I said before, what you're seeing, you're seeing a lot of rather inept and ineffective and very ferocious resistance to our forces. And the fact that that continues and they keep trying to rebuild some sort of position indicates that there's some kind of cohesive political entity at the center which is driving that process. So there still is a government there, which has to be eliminated.

COLLINS: I'm still trying to figure out who's running the show. All right. Colonel Patrick Lang, thanks for being with us this morning. We appreciate your insight.

LANG: Sure.

COLLINS: Back to Bill Hemmer in Kuwait now.

HEMMER: All right. Heidi, listen, we all know and CENTCOM says it every day, the threat of chemical and biological attacks still remains. The U.S. is still yet to take or remove the possibility of an attack in that area. At one air base in south central Iraq -- we'll take you there in a moment -- of how the U.S. members there -- U.S. troops are protecting themselves against what many consider to be the invisible enemy. Back in a moment with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Just about 10:15 a.m. back in the East Coast of the U.S. Coming up on about 5:00, 5:15 here in Kuwait. If you are just joining us, I want to recap right now, quickly, some of the major developments over the past several hours and for that we turn to Leon Harris again.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: 1:14 a.m., CNN's Rym Brahimi reports that Baghdad residents endured another night of heavy bombing. This as Iraqi authorities announced that all entrances to Baghdad would be closed from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. effective Sunday night.

1:55 a.m., CNN's Martin Savidge reports Marines are slowly moving through the southeast suburbs of Baghdad and says he has seen a burned out U.S. tank and a lot of Iraqi bodies, evidence that forward elements are seeing heavy resistance.

3:13 a.m., from CNN's Kathleen Koch, Pentagon officials say that U.S. forces would operate when they want and where they want despite any closure of entrances to Baghdad.

5:40 a.m., Tom Mintier reports the bodyguard of Chemical Ali, a top Hussein aid, accused of gassing Kurdish villagers in 1988 has been found dead in the rubble of an airstrike that destroyed Ali's home. There's no word on Ali's fate.

6:33 a.m., CNN's James Martone reports from northern Iraq where the BBC reports that a U.S. warplane mistakenly dropped a bomb on a U.S./Kurdish convoy. The report says at least 10 people died and many more were injured.

6:36 a.m., Iraq's information minister says in fighting around Baghdad's international airport, Iraqi forces killed 50 coalition troops and destroyed or severely damaged 16 tanks.

7:01 a.m., U.S. Central Command says the coalition force is growing stronger every day and the outcome of Operation Iraqi Freedom is not in doubt.

HEMMER: Leon, thanks again for that update on that.

I want to get you back to south central Iraq. It was about two weeks ago when the U.S. captured this air base in the southern part of the country. Although it is a long way from the frontlines of fighting that is ongoing today, especially around Baghdad, it is still under the threat and the possibility of some sort of chemical or biological attack. Harris Whitbeck is there for us and filed this report on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Detect any known agent.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sergeant Paul Salsada (ph) has a critical job at this Iraqi air base now taken over by coalition forces. He is an expert on chemical and biological warfare. His job is to protect the forces here against that potential.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we can detect from up to five kilometers and we can actually predict which way the vapor hazard is traveling.

WHITBECK: The threat level at this base was lowered on Saturday, allowing service members to take off the chemical suits they've been wearing for days. But those in charge of keeping the base safe are not relaxing, not yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has decreased but it's not gone away. So I have my systems up running 24 hours a day so we can detect something if it was to happen.

WHITBECK: The U.S. Army is in charge of detection and decontamination that uses sophisticated and highly mobile technology.

(on camera): Vehicles like these are among the first lines of defense in case of chemical or biological warfare. The information gathered here is used to warn those who might be in harm's way.

(voice-over): They operate in the battlefield or in areas like this one where discoveries made when the base was taken over made many people nervous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were reports all throughout the air base. There were all kinds of MBC gear in most of these buildings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found two different kinds of masks. One is an aviator mask that has a full frontal face shield.

WHITBECK: The Iraqi protection here was handed over to Iraqi POWs currently being held at the base so they too could be protected in case of attack. The possibility of chemical and biological attacks is very much on the minds of the base's current occupants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's there. We're still waiting. Hopefully, they don't use it. If all we do is sit here and all we do is do our job and we're not very busy, that's good. But if we get busy, that's kind of a bad thing, so hopefully we will remain status quo.

WHITBECK: A fervent wish from soldiers who have already dramatically altered the status quo here.

Harris Whitbeck, CNN, in south central Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Now to the central part of the country and the battle for Baghdad, what's happening inside this city and what sort of strategy may unfold now? In a moment, we'll talk with one man who just might know. Back in a moment with that when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: A bit difficult to know exactly what's happening in the interior of Baghdad, what's happening on the streets of that city of 5 million people. Riad Kahwaji may know. He's the Middle East bureau chief for Defense News and he's back with us again today live from Central Command down in Qatar.

Riad, thanks for coming back. We spoke two days ago. At the time, you had some fascinating information as the people you were talking with on the ground, inside the city of Baghdad, and what they were experiencing. Have you made contact with them yet again and if so, what are they saying today on Sunday?

RIAD KAHWAJI, DEFENSE NEWS: Yes, I have made contact with them. They are beginning to feel the difference between night now and the nights before. There is more fighting, constant fighting, very close to their quarters, to their houses, around the city. They are beginning to feel a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear in the streets. Many people trying to get out of the city, but they were told today that there's been some sort of a curfew set, all exits and the fact that it will be closed as of today between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 in the morning. This would control a lot of the movement. This would result in keeping many people inside town. They see more tanks rolling on the streets, taking up positions in various places. There's a strong sense of fear and anxiety amongst the population of Iraq, of Baghdad.

HEMMER: Yes. And listen, the Army is right now telling us, Riad, as you well know, that they've circled the town almost completely, cutting out every major road -- route, rather, inside that city, which may couple with perhaps the reason why this curfew has now been imposed. You mentioned the tanks. I'm assuming that's Iraqi tanks. Have they told you about any U.S. presence they've noted so far?

KAHWAJI: No, none so far. I mean, so far, what they saw was the Iraqi tanks, Iraqi artillery and the Iraqi field artillery, talking here about artillery with the caliber of 130-millimeter, some up to 152-millimeter artillery pieces with multiple rocket launchers deployed in various places and in various corners of the Iraqi capital. It's a big capital. It's a big city.

The neighborhoods -- the terrain in the neighborhoods differ. You have some that are very cool, shantytown style. You have others that are modern downtown with high buildings. There would be a lot of different kind of terrains and each one would carry its own kind of perils for both the residents as well as for the coalition forces if they decide to move and destroy the city.

HEMMER: Riad, listen, what is your measure right now? What is your estimation about how this battle may unfold? Do you see every Iraqi soldier fighting to the end? Do you see some sort of capitulation? Or at what point do we see house to house if it comes to that? KAHWAJI: Look, urban warfare and guerrilla warfare very much rely on how much support you have or the Iraqis in this case, the Iraqi forces would have from the population. It's the will and the desire of the population to fight back that would keep them in their places entrenched and resisting. If this will and desire of the population fades away and they feel that it's a lost cause and they will not fight back, whatever is left of Iraqi forces will slowly disintegrate, disappear and give up. So it is -- all goes down to a war of wills, if you may call it, and also a war of information between the coalition and the Iraqi who is more convincing in selling his cause to the Iraqi people and to residents of Baghdad. Do they still want the regime? Do they still want to defend this regime? If they are convinced otherwise, they will cease to resist and whatever loyalists do, the regime, they are on the streets, they will just move away. They will just stop fighting back and may surrender.

HEMMER: All right. Day 18, quickly moving toward Day 19. It will be sundown in Baghdad in about an hour's time and we will see what happens at nightfall. Riad Kahwaji, again, from CENTCOM, thanks again, with the Defense News down there in Qatar.

Heidi, again, in Atlanta.

COLLINS: Thank you, Bill.

Seventy-nine names now appear on the Pentagon's list of troops killed during the war and as their remains are brought home, families and friends and communities across America are remembering loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: War is really ugly and not without costs. Today is a day of remembering with honor Marine Lance Corporal Eric Orlowski.

They were in defense of the country and they died protecting and defending the values we cherish today, but freedom must cost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The worst part for them is they get really tired of waiting and worrying and everything, but now she's going to be coming home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She will not be forgotten. And it gives us comfort to know that she is at peace right now. We are very proud of Lori. Our family is very proud of her. She is our hero. We continue to believe that. We're going to hold that in our hearts forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he always told me to never give up on things and I've always admired him a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The price of liberty and the price of freedom is always a major sacrifice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chad was a good candidate for the Marine Corps. He was gung ho in everything he did. He gave 100 percent. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was the kind of kid you liked to have around because he was full of energy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And may we never forget that behind each man there is a story of a life, a story of hopes, dreams and love.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning, Leon Harris here in the CNN newsroom. Here's what's happening this hour. After a two-day siege in Baghdad, a U.S. military official tells CNN that the city is now surrounded by U.S. forces. Coalition troops are said to have sealed all roads in and out of the capital.

And the Pentagon says it will operate when and where it wants to in Baghdad. You see live pictures here as it is 6:30 p.m. in Baghdad. Now, this comment from the Pentagon is in response to reports that Iraq itself has imposed a nighttime curfew in the capital. Iraq says it is forbidding travel in Baghdad from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

Well, CENTCOM is investigating whether friendly fire is to blame for killing 12 Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq. Kurdish officials say that a convoy carrying Kurds and U.S. Special Forces was struck by a coalition bomb today. No word if any U.S. soldiers, if they were wounded or killed in that incident here.

And words of warning from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. He says that Syria -- quote -- "will be held accountable" -- unquote -- for supporting Iraq against a U.S. led invasion. Wolfowitz also talked about the creation of a new Iraqi government early this morning. He said that it would take at least six months for one to put in place after Saddam Hussein's regime is defeated. CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq continues right here, right now.

HEMMER: And good afternoon again, live here in Kuwait City. Good to have you with us on this Sunday. We are told right now all roads in and out of Baghdad are closed by U.S. forces. Walt Rodgers reporting that the city is surrounded and that U.S. commanders say anyone who wants to stay alive should stay off the roads. Walter also tells us U.S. forces starting to reach out to locals in the western parts of Baghdad, hoping to identify Fedayeen fighters. Those fighters continue to be one of the biggest dangers for U.S. forces and for, we are told, Iraqi civilians as well.

U.S. Marines going house to house in areas as they make their way through the outer suburbs of Baghdad, moving even closer now to the city's center. Martin Savidge reports the unit he's with is fighting isolated skirmishes with paramilitary groups -- military groups, rather, that are mixed in with civilians.

Central Command in Qatar showed us some video today again. The U.S. Special Operations forces and they parachuted into an unspecified part of Iraq to secure an airfield. Brigadier General Vincent Brooks saying that Special Ops forces working with Iraqis throughout the country who are against Saddam Hussein's regime.

Time again to bring in Heidi Collins at the CNN Center.

Heidi, good morning again.

COLLINS: Good morning again to you, Bill. Let's go ahead and check some of the other late war developments now. Our Diana Muriel reports from Basra that British troops there are strengthening their hold on that city. They credit, in part, an air strike that knocked out key Ba'ath Party members or leaders in the city. Among them was the bodyguard of the man known as Chemical Ali. His fate at this time is unknown.

CNN's Jane Arraf on the road to Mosul with Kurdish troops says U.S. F-14s have been dropping 2,000-pound bombs on Iraqi positions. That action taking place not far from the friendly fire incident Leon mentioned just a moment ago.

And U.S. Central Command says U.S. troops who overran a training camp southeast of Baghdad found fighters from Egypt and Sudan who came to fight for Saddam Hussein. General Vincent Brooks said some of those fighters were killed; others were captured.

Back now to Bill in Kuwait.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. The 1st Battalion 7th Marines, that's where Marty Savidge has been embedded for just about four weeks running right now. Last hour, Marty filed this report. He is working his way again, southeastern part of Baghdad. Here's what he found earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As they have for the past three days, the Marines continue to drive into the southeastern suburbs of Baghdad and as they do, they have been encountering pockets of resistance. This is sporadic fighting that does not occur all the time, but does flair up from place to place and they had been moving into more built up areas and that is complicating things for the movement of the convoys.

Other units have pushed ahead, but now the 1st Battalion 7th Marines in this specific area where we were at has been tasked with job of clean up, trying to find where the resistance is coming from. Who is it? The search and destroy missions, as they call it. The difficulty, of course, is they are now mixed in with the civilian population. Opposing forces are using that to their advantage. For the Marines, they have to be very careful now. They have to be careful that they select their targets and make sure that the targets they aim at are in fact hostiles while the innocent civilians are not caught in the way.

It is house-to-house searches at some times. A very poignant scene at one point, that cameraman, Scott McWhinney (ph) found, as these Marines moved in on a house. Now, we do have translators, but not all of the units have translators. They came across this one family. It's through voice and through hand gestures that they try to get them out of the house and they do. But it's clear, you can tell, that the family is terrified of the presence of these Marines.

Now, the Marines also, as you may notice in this video, are keeping their weapons well away. They are not pointing them at the women and children and the men of this family and they are trying to assure them that it's for their own safety. The Marines have been receiving fire from this specific area. They are trying to simply search in and around the home and once that is completed, the family was allowed to return back to their house.

Meanwhile, though, in the backyards and the back allies and the side streets, it's a different story. At times, infantry units were fired upon. They call in artillery, which is used to take out some of the heavier fortified positions of Iraqi opposition. This is the way it has gone for the past three days and may continue like that for some time.

However, last night, a special find. The 1st Battalion 7th Marines managed to capture three members of the special Iraqi Republican Guard. These were men that were identified because of the I.D. cards that they had with them. They weren't wearing uniforms, but they did have them in the backseat of the vehicle as well as their weapons. The three men now are being interrogated and reportedly cooperating with the Marines. It is hard, difficult, dangerous work, within the forefront of their minds, always protecting Iraqi civilians.

Martin Savidge, CNN, southeast of Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: All right. I want to bring it also on the battlefield yet again. Scott Nelson's a writer for "The Boston Globe." Scott's been checking in by way of telephone for the past one week running.

Scott, yesterday, I believe, when we talked you were south of city. Now I understand you might be northeast of Baghdad. Where are you as best as you can tell us right now, given the permission and the guidelines we're working off here and what's happening?

SCOTT NELSON, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": Sure. The group I'm with moved to the north and east a little bit today as the American forces sort of consolidate their grip around the city. They've -- you know they've moved units around and they've repositioned people, but the situation largely appears to remain unchanged. The fighting is at a much lower level at this point.

The one thing that I can add to the discussion today that changed dramatically is the unit I'm traveling with was actually ambushed today and found itself in a relatively fierce firefight for a little bit and that tells me one important thing that the Republican Guard maybe --- have retreated back into the city in large numbers. The open battles may be out of the way, but there is still guerrilla action very much active in the area. HEMMER: Scott, listen, we are getting reports from Walt Rodgers and others that Baghdad's been essentially surrounded. Do you have that same impression and report from there?

NELSON: I absolutely have that impression.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?

NELSON: Of course, the one limitation of being embedded is that you can't see very far in either direction from where your battalion happens to be. But from where I'm sitting, it certainly looks like the American forces have Baghdad in a fairly tight noose at this point.

HEMMER: And what can you tell us then about these chunks that the city is supposed to be divided up in in terms of jurisdiction? From your perspective, with the Marines, how would that happen with your unit?

NELSON: The truth is, my unit is an artillery battalion, so it wouldn't happen at all. They're not involved in that partitioning process. With these being Howitzer canons they have, they can stay a few miles outside the city and that's as close as they ever need to get. So I can't provide much insight on who's partitioning up, what kind of neighborhoods and how that neighborhood-by-neighborhood development is going in the city. I'm sorry. I just can't speak to that.

HEMMER: No problem. Scott, listen, one other thing we're getting here is that up to 3,000 Iraqi soldiers may have been killed in fighting yesterday alone. If that number holds up, it would appear to be an extremely high casualty count for the Iraqis. Based on what you're hearing, does that come close to what you're reporting and have you seen evidence that would lead you to believe this is the case?

NELSON: In this area, I have not seen evidence of that scale of fighting. What I have seen a lot of are Republican Guard tanks and vehicles that appear in many cases to have been abandoned and left as the people who have been driving them probably flee into the city. They dropped their clothes; their weapons and they just take off. In other cases, I have seen a number of, certainly, smoking tanks and I've seen a lot of bunkers that appear to have been blown out. So certainly, there was fighting in this area and certainly, Iraqi soldiers did die. Whether or not it's on that scale, I just haven't seen that kind of fighting in this part of Baghdad in the last couple of days.

HEMMER: All right. OK, Scott, thanks for checking in again. Scott Nelson is a writer with "The Boston Globe." I am certain we will talk at some point again tomorrow.

Here's Heidi again -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Bill, there is a memorial service underway right now this morning at Fort Bliss, Texas, for the members of the 507th Maintenance Company. They were in a convoy that was attacked on March 23. Their bodies were recovered from a hospital in Nasiriyah during the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, their comrade. We have Ed Lavandera standing by live now to tell us more about that.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, the church service that is under way here is one of the regularly scheduled Sunday services. There will be an official memorial service for the soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company scheduled for next week, on Friday. There hasn't been a time or exact place that has been released as of yet.

But the church services here this morning, much more poignant considering what has been going on in the last two weeks. For two weeks this base, this military family here, has been paying close attention to the situation and the news on Friday -- late Friday night that eight soldiers or seven soldiers that had been killed in an ambush just outside of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, the days that Jessica Lynch was rescued, came as disheartening news, to say the least. But there's also still a lot of hope here. There are five other soldiers that are considered to be prisoners-of-war, so that has given the military family here at Fort Bliss reason to remain hopeful and pray for the safe return of those.

The bishop of El Paso conducting the service here this morning, saying that they're praying for the mercy of the souls of those soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company and also praying for the comfort for the families that have been left behind here at Fort Bliss, who are waiting for not only of the soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company, but all of the soldiers' families that have been deployed and praying for their comfort in this difficult time for them.

And if you look over my shoulder here at the Fort Bliss base, this is Memorial Field you see. This is just across the street from the chapel where the church service is going on here this morning. The flag of the POW/MIA flag as well. This is the way the flags have been here at half-staff since the news of -- late Friday night of the 507th Maintenance Company. The soldiers had been found dead outside of that hospital in Nasiriyah, so definitely a sense of sadness here on this base. But there's also a remainder of hope because they do know that they still have to pray for the other five soldiers that are considered to be prisoners-of-war at this time and that's given a lot of folks here reason to remain hopeful -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That's good to hear, Ed. Just one quick clarification, you said this was a regular Sunday service and the actual memorial service for the 507th is next week, is that what I heard you say?

LAVANDERA: Yes, that's scheduled for Friday. And as I mentioned a little while ago, the exact time and date and location of that memorial service hasn't been announced yet. But it will be here on the base, and military officials here on this base have also told us that that will likely be open to the public, which will probably be good news for many of the folks here in the El Paso area who have been paying so much close attention to this story since it broke two weeks ago -- Heidi.

COLLINS: A very strong community indeed. All right. Ed Lavandera from Fort Bliss, Texas, thank you.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Listen, we've talked a lot about the interior of Baghdad. The report is indeed the case that we're getting about an encirclement of the Iraqi capital. What then is happening on the inside with regard to Special Operation forces? We'll talk about that with our expert from the U.S. Army right after this.

ANNOUNCER: For more on the war in Iraq, log on to CNN.com. Get reports from the frontlines and all the facts and features you need to track the war. Plus, sign up for breaking news alerts and be the first to know. Log on and stay informed at CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: We are back here live in Kuwait. Clearly, the battle has been focused right now over the past 48 to 72 two hours on the city of Baghdad. What then, what is the role of Special Operations forces right now operating either inside the city or around it? Let's talk about that with Colonel Patrick Lang, U.S. Army Retired. He's back in Washington D.C.

Colonel, welcome back here to CNN on this Sunday. Give us an idea about what you think right now. The role of Special Forces inside the city right now could be what at this point?

LANG: Well, I think this is all about ground-level observation. Strategic reconnaissance is a major mission of Special Ops and if you're an intelligence analyst at Land Forces Command or CENTCOM, Central Command, you need to develop a picture of Baghdad that drives from a lot of different sources -- signals, satellite photography, drones, but you need -- especially need something which is at ground level and which is continuous. And even if it's only in a couple of streets, it's there all of the time. And if you take that information, which shows you what's going on in the streets and fit it together with everything else you have, you develop a pretty complete picture of activity in the city, which is absolutely needed to support these armored strikes into the cities and further attempts at decapitation of the regime, things like that.

HEMMER: You know, Colonel, listen, the view we're getting here in Kuwait from our embedded reporters that this war again has been a very lopsided affair especially over the past seven to 10 days running. If it is so lopsided at this point, within the city walls itself, within the city of Baghdad, what kind of resistance would Special Ops be facing right now?

LANG: Well, hopefully none. You know if you're a Special Forces soldier or a guy from Delta or a SEAL or something like that and you're in the city working with friendly Iraqis because you have to be in order to have some place to hide, you don't want to be engaged at all. If they locate you and they start to chase you, they're going to run you down. So we don't want there to be any resistance at all. We want this to be a very one-sided process.

HEMMER: Yes. Listen, we were talking with an expert with Defense News down in Qatar a short time ago and he's in touch with his people on the ground in Baghdad. They said they do spot either Republican Guard forces, special Republican Guard forces, tanks on the streets of Baghdad, not in great numbers, we're told, but they have been spotted and shown and seen there. A question to you about your own assessment right now. How do you rate right now the effectiveness of the Iraqi military inside the city?

LANG: Not very effective, really. I mean the Iraqis have shown a good deal of spirit and the willingness to resist and be killed off in the process. But in fact, they're still firmly locked militarily in an image of war that derives from World War II and they're completely unable to cope with our forces, either our air or our ground forces. So they're trying to put together whatever kind of scratch force they can inside the city to fight us. And I'd be willing to bet you if we keep pushing them, they're just going to fall apart.

HEMMER: You really think so? Just like Basra, I guess with the reports we're getting earlier today with the British going to the heart of that city?

LANG: Yes, just on a larger scale, I would think, in fact. You know I think probably -- I would share the belief that I've heard that I don't think the people of Baghdad are going to come out en masse in order to fight the U.S. Army or the Marines. But what's going on happen is that regime forces inside the city will continue to try to resist and we're just going to take them apart as we've been doing right along.

HEMMER: Colonel Patrick Lang from D.C., U.S. Army, retired. Thank you, Colonel. We'll talk to you again.

LANG: You're welcome.

HEMMER: Here's Heidi again -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Thank you, Bill.

U.S. planes have begun 24-hour surveillance over Baghdad in a new strategy designed to protect coalition troops. CNN had the first network crew allowed on one of these flights and since then the missions have been declared too dangerous to permit news crews onboard. Kyra Phillips filed this exclusive report from the skies over Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We won't consider the mission a success unless the Marines are happy with the product.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are coalition bodyguards over Baghdad, an airborne shield to U.S. Marines. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let them know what's coming. Let them know if anything's coming back behind them on their flanks and close off their supply lines.

PHILLIPS: You are now airborne over Iraq with commander Steve Kroto's (ph) Gray Knights, the Navy's P-3 Eyes in the Sky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any kind of forces that looks like they may be threatening the Marines, you know, we want to let them know. And we have the capability to send pictures or actual video and then they can make the decisions if they want to maybe avoid that area or go ahead and go out and engage those folks.

PHILLIPS: Dodging missiles and AAA afire is something new to this squadron, however, protecting forces on ground, isn't.

(on camera): These men are about three hours into their mission and the sun is starting to set. They've just come across one of the Marine convoys that they need to track, so they're watching every move that the Marines make as they move towards Baghdad, making sure they don't come across any type of threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting closer to it.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Also on this mission, Marine Colonel Jim Lukeman (ph) and Sergeant Emilio Hernandez. They are tracking and talking to their fellow Marines on the ground...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two vehicles moving across the bridge.

PHILLIPS: ... making sure they don't get ambushed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm looking for enemy positions up to the front. We'll look at the routes ahead of where our guys are going to go and try to see what enemy is there.

PHILLIPS: Lukeman (ph) is warning his troops about a bridge ahead. He doesn't like what he sees. The Gray Knights fly closer and grab a clearer picture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's some vehicular traffic, so that we know the bridge is still intact. They may be Iraqi military. So now that the Marine division on the ground has that information, they'll take action tactically on it.

PHILLIPS: These flights can last up to 15 hours, but it's the minutes of real-time intelligence that completes the mission.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you're on the ground fighting, every piece of information you've got about what you're coming up against is golden.

PHILLIPS: Commander Steve Kroto (ph) brings this crew home after locating Iraqi positions and surface-to-surface missiles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It keeps the Marines safe. And one more safe Marine is one more Marine that can continue on north to Baghdad.

PHILLIPS: Flying over Iraq, Kyra Phillips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Coming up, remembering Lori Piestewa. Her family's priest talks about the woman they're remembering as a mother, a Hopi and a hero. That's just ahead. Stay with us.

ANNOUNCER: CNN's continuing coverage of the war in Iraq, U.S. forces entered Baghdad for a second day while British forces report they've closed in on central Basra. A joyous reunion, the family of rescued POW, Jessica Lynch, finally sees here face-to-face. And reports of a friendly fire incident which may have led to Kurdish and American casualties is being investigated. Stay with CNN, the most trusted names in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: PFC Lori Piestewa is the first woman in the U.S. Armed Forces to die in this war and very likely the first Native American woman ever to die in combat. She was killed during or possibly after her unit was attacked near Nasiriyah two weeks ago. Father Godden Menaro of St. Jude's Catholic Church has been with her family. He joins us now from Tuba City, Arizona.

Father, good morning to you.

FATHER GODDEN MENARO, ST. JUDE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH: Good morning.

COLLINS: I'm wondering the first night that Lori's family heard about her death, actually about her missing first of all, they called you. How were you able to console them at that time of unknowingness?

MENARO: We had a prayer service for her that evening at 6:00. The family asked if they could come and if I would open the church and I said yes. And we were all surprised at how many people in the community came. Over 200 people attended and gave their condolences to the family. And of course, we all prayed for Lori that she would return.

COLLINS: I'm sure that response and that support from the community was helpful. How are they doing now? How is the family doing?

MENARO: The family is doing very well. They have very strong faith. They are holding up very well. They're really an inspiration to the rest of us.

COLLINS: And speaking of an inspiration, I believe that we heard from Lori's brother and he had some wonderful things to say about her. Let's go ahead and listen in to that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYLAND PIESTEWA, LORI PIESTEWA'S BROTHER: We are very proud of Lori. Our family is very proud of her. We know she's our hero, as you've heard before. We are continuing to believe that. We're going to hold that in our hearts forever and she will not be forgotten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We have seen the American flag and the POW flag and the yellow ribbons tied around the trees near their home. How else has the community reacted to this news?

MENARO: I'd say the community reacted very well, surprisingly. They came together, like you said, with the yellow ribbons and all kinds of ways of reminding people to pray for her and to hope for her recovery.

COLLINS: So you have a service coming up today, is that right? And if so, I'd love to know what, if anything, you'll be saying about Lori Ann.

MENARO: I'm going to say that I too am proud of her and I thank her for being willing to give her life for her country. I'm also going tell the people that they have been praying for two weeks now and if they have been praying in the right spirit, asking God if it's his will that she come back, that now they will be content with the fact that she's not able to come.

COLLINS: It's very difficult, I'm sure, for everyone involved, including you. Father Godden Menaro, St. Jude's Catholic Church, Tuba City, Arizona, this morning, thanks for your time.

MENARO: Thank you.

COLLINS: And we'll be back after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: I want to get you back to Nasiriyah right now in south central Iraq and that hospital where Jessica Lynch was rescued late on Tuesday night of this past week. Now, Jason Bellini is with the Marines there, in fact, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and there are more discoveries at that hospital. Jason filed this report earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The children who'll never play soccer again. The expectant mother will be unable to lift her baby. The wounds that time won't heal. Wounded civilians in Iraq are harder for us embedded with the U.S. military to see and report on than the bright and thrilling explosions that hurt them.

Today, in Saddam Hospital in An Nasiriyah, we heard just a few of their stories. Twenty-year-old Hyder (ph) was eating breakfast when he heard a helicopter overhead, then, an explosion, which killed his brother, wounded his father and made him an amputee.

Fifteen-year-old Jesmak (ph) says he was walking down the street when a bomb hit nearby sending shrapnel into his arms and legs. The doctor who served as our guide and translator says that over 400 people have died in Nasiriyah since the war began, another 1,200 injured. The hospital, willfully unprepared, operating without enough power, water and medicine.

In Saddam Hospital, Saddam Hussein's pictures is two-thirds of the way down, but civilians suffering is far from over.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Nasiriyah, Iraq.

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HARRIS: Now, you see it coming up on 7:00 p.m. in Iraq. Coming up on 11:00 a.m. here on the East Coast of the U.S., 8:00 a.m. in the West. This is Sunday, April 6, the 18th day of the war in Iraq.

Coalition troops reentered Baghdad for a second day of reconnaissance missions and we are watching and waiting for more reports on that action.

Good morning folks from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Leon Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. And along with us this hour, Bill Hemmer, in Kuwait City.

Hi, Bill.

HEMMER: Hello, Heidi. Hello, Leon. Leon, as you mentioned, night falling again in Baghdad and Walt Rodgers reporting about two hours ago...

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