Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Another Deadly Day for U.S. Troops in Iraq

Aired May 27, 2003 - 05:02   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: Another deadly day for U.S. troops in Iraq. An American Army unit has come under attack. One American soldier killed in the fighting in the town of Fallujah. That's 30 miles west of Baghdad. Others are wounded this morning.
We take you live now to Baghdad and Matthew Chance -- what happened, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, thank you.

And there has, across Iraq, been a sharp increase of fighting, with various U.S. units coming under attack in various areas of the country. You mentioned Fallujah. We'll start there. And the latest report we have being confirmed by U.S. authorities here is that there are a number, a hostile force, according to the U.S., of unknown size attacked an Army unit Tuesday morning -- that's local time this morning here in Baghdad -- killing on soldier and injuring seven others in the firefight that followed in that town of Fallujah, about 70 kilometers to the west of the capital city, Baghdad.

Two of the attackers were killed by U.S. forces and a further six were captured, according to the U.S. spokesman here. It's been confirmed also that a U.S. helicopter that was being used to MediVac the injured from the scene was damaged. We mentioned something like this earlier. There was a bit of confusion around that report. It seems that this was not a helicopter that was damaged by hostile fire. Instead, according to U.S. officials, it was damaged by a U.S. armored fighting vehicle, a Bradley fighting vehicle, as it maneuvered into firing position.

Fallujah, that town to the west of Baghdad, has been a scene, a flashpoint of various attacks against U.S. forces. Just hours before this latest incident, CNN learned from U.S. officials that an attacker threw what they call a satchel bomb underneath a Humvee, an armored -- a Humvee jeep type vehicle, exploding, killing at least one soldier inside, a number -- and injuring a number of others.

That incident in itself came after a further attack in the north of Iraq, in the town of Hadifah, where, again, a U.S. Army convoy came under attack from various unknown attackers. U.S. Army spokespeople, of course, are saying this very much underlines how dangerous this country still is for their forces.

Captain David Connolly is the U.S. spokesman here in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAPT. DAVID CONNOLLY: It's important to remember that we had two main objectives when we came to Iraq. One was to remove the regime. Another was to search for and destroy weapons of mass destruction. Neither of those two tasks are complete. There are many signs out there on a daily basis that show that things are improving. But we know that through these incidents yesterday that there's still some things to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Well, U.S. officials saying that force protection in this country and in this city of Baghdad is their number one priority. These various incidents underlining just why that is so important -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Matthew Chance live from Baghdad this morning.

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 May 27, 2003 - 05:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Another deadly day for U.S. troops in Iraq. An American Army unit has come under attack. One American soldier killed in the fighting in the town of Fallujah. That's 30 miles west of Baghdad. Others are wounded this morning.
We take you live now to Baghdad and Matthew Chance -- what happened, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, thank you.

And there has, across Iraq, been a sharp increase of fighting, with various U.S. units coming under attack in various areas of the country. You mentioned Fallujah. We'll start there. And the latest report we have being confirmed by U.S. authorities here is that there are a number, a hostile force, according to the U.S., of unknown size attacked an Army unit Tuesday morning -- that's local time this morning here in Baghdad -- killing on soldier and injuring seven others in the firefight that followed in that town of Fallujah, about 70 kilometers to the west of the capital city, Baghdad.

Two of the attackers were killed by U.S. forces and a further six were captured, according to the U.S. spokesman here. It's been confirmed also that a U.S. helicopter that was being used to MediVac the injured from the scene was damaged. We mentioned something like this earlier. There was a bit of confusion around that report. It seems that this was not a helicopter that was damaged by hostile fire. Instead, according to U.S. officials, it was damaged by a U.S. armored fighting vehicle, a Bradley fighting vehicle, as it maneuvered into firing position.

Fallujah, that town to the west of Baghdad, has been a scene, a flashpoint of various attacks against U.S. forces. Just hours before this latest incident, CNN learned from U.S. officials that an attacker threw what they call a satchel bomb underneath a Humvee, an armored -- a Humvee jeep type vehicle, exploding, killing at least one soldier inside, a number -- and injuring a number of others.

That incident in itself came after a further attack in the north of Iraq, in the town of Hadifah, where, again, a U.S. Army convoy came under attack from various unknown attackers. U.S. Army spokespeople, of course, are saying this very much underlines how dangerous this country still is for their forces.

Captain David Connolly is the U.S. spokesman here in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CAPT. DAVID CONNOLLY: It's important to remember that we had two main objectives when we came to Iraq. One was to remove the regime. Another was to search for and destroy weapons of mass destruction. Neither of those two tasks are complete. There are many signs out there on a daily basis that show that things are improving. But we know that through these incidents yesterday that there's still some things to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Well, U.S. officials saying that force protection in this country and in this city of Baghdad is their number one priority. These various incidents underlining just why that is so important -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Matthew Chance live from Baghdad this morning.

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