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CNN Live At Daybreak
Falluja Firefight
Aired April 29, 2003 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: What started as a protest against U.S. troops camped at a school, hours later Iraqis say a gunfight ended with at least a dozen people killed.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is covering this story in Falluja, and he joins us live by phone.
Karl -- bring us up-to-date.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I've been talking to civilians who live opposite the school, where the gun battle broke out last night. They say that 12 people, 12 civilians, Iraqi civilians have been killed, and up to 50 were wounded.
The situation seems to have been that a group of demonstrators, 150 or 200, made their way toward a school, where troops of the 82nd Airborne have been based for the last 10 days. The members who were in the demonstration said they were calling for the troops to leave the school. Then, at that point, shooting broke out.
The version from the civilians, from the residents, is that the soldiers opened fire first. We, though, talked also to soldiers of the 82nd Airborne. They say that they were receiving fire from AK-47 assault rifles from within the crowd, and in response to that, they opened fire with sniper fire, using assault rifles and also machine guns.
The Army has no final casualty toll, but a colonel that we spoke to said his estimate is of a total seven dead or injured. That, of course, doesnt tally with what the civilians are saying. They're saying at least 12 dead and up to 50 injured.
COSTELLO: So, Karl, right now we don't know who fired first, because initially there were reports that the demonstrators were unarmed.
PENHAUL: The demonstrators have said -- demonstrators that I have spoken to this morning said, yes, they did start throwing rocks. They were chanting and they did start throwing rocks. But they say categorically that they didn't have weapons, they didn't open fire first.
Talking to the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne, the U.S. soldiers, they say, no, they received fire first. They say some of the demonstrators were armed with assault rifles, and that they opened fire on the soldiers first. In response to that, the soldiers targeted and fired back at those people they believe were firing at them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Karl Penhaul, thanks for that live update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired April 29, 2003 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: What started as a protest against U.S. troops camped at a school, hours later Iraqis say a gunfight ended with at least a dozen people killed.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is covering this story in Falluja, and he joins us live by phone.
Karl -- bring us up-to-date.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I've been talking to civilians who live opposite the school, where the gun battle broke out last night. They say that 12 people, 12 civilians, Iraqi civilians have been killed, and up to 50 were wounded.
The situation seems to have been that a group of demonstrators, 150 or 200, made their way toward a school, where troops of the 82nd Airborne have been based for the last 10 days. The members who were in the demonstration said they were calling for the troops to leave the school. Then, at that point, shooting broke out.
The version from the civilians, from the residents, is that the soldiers opened fire first. We, though, talked also to soldiers of the 82nd Airborne. They say that they were receiving fire from AK-47 assault rifles from within the crowd, and in response to that, they opened fire with sniper fire, using assault rifles and also machine guns.
The Army has no final casualty toll, but a colonel that we spoke to said his estimate is of a total seven dead or injured. That, of course, doesnt tally with what the civilians are saying. They're saying at least 12 dead and up to 50 injured.
COSTELLO: So, Karl, right now we don't know who fired first, because initially there were reports that the demonstrators were unarmed.
PENHAUL: The demonstrators have said -- demonstrators that I have spoken to this morning said, yes, they did start throwing rocks. They were chanting and they did start throwing rocks. But they say categorically that they didn't have weapons, they didn't open fire first.
Talking to the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne, the U.S. soldiers, they say, no, they received fire first. They say some of the demonstrators were armed with assault rifles, and that they opened fire on the soldiers first. In response to that, the soldiers targeted and fired back at those people they believe were firing at them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Karl Penhaul, thanks for that live update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
