Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
The New Iraq: Sniper Kills U.S. Soldier
Aired June 17, 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: Our top story this hour, the sniper killing of a U.S. soldier on patrol in Baghdad. We take you right now to the Iraqi capital where CNN's Jane Arraf has the latest on this story.
Jane, what happened?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, the soldier appears to have been killed with a single gunshot wound to the chest. Now the sniper appears to have gotten away. It's not clear whether the rest of his unit either saw him or returned fire. We're still getting in those details, but it appears to have happened on an overnight patrol in the north of Baghdad.
Also in Baghdad, in western Baghdad, a car exploded last night injuring two people. It's the latest in a series of incidents that have happened in and around Baghdad. We don't want to imply that the city is exploding in violence, but for Iraqis, it's very unusual. This was a very safe city, and it's very troubling and very frightening for many people.
Now the U.S. military is still continuing that crack down, Operation Desert Scorpion, in which it's scouring the countryside, particularly areas north and west of Baghdad. West, including the city, the region of Habinea (ph), which is part of that troubled region where there have been frequent attacks against U.S. soldiers.
Now the military is going door to door, going through towns, neighborhoods, looking for what they call pockets of resistance, Saddam loyalists, Ba'ath Party members, other armed groups and major weapons caches. Here in Baghdad, the military says they've so far detained 156 people in that operation and captured things, including rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. They've been trying to get people to turn in their weapons voluntarily, but so far that has not been a rousing success -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane, I'm just curious, so they're detaining those -- these people, what are they doing with them? Are they holding them indefinitely?
ARRAF: They're holding them for questioning, but that really is a gray area, what sort of laws they're operating under, what they're doing with them, where they're being held. Now the U.S. administrator here is expected to make some announcements later today about getting the justice system up and running.
But as for these people, all the way from the people on the most wanted list to just ordinary Iraqis that are being rounded up in these overnight raids, there really isn't any clear definition of how they're being held, what laws they're being held under, how they're being treated and what's happening to them. We occasionally get these figures that say some of them were detained and some were released, but not many details after that and it is causing some alarm here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, live from Baghdad this morning, many thanks.
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 June 17, 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: Our top story this hour, the sniper killing of a U.S. soldier on patrol in Baghdad. We take you right now to the Iraqi capital where CNN's Jane Arraf has the latest on this story.
Jane, what happened?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, the soldier appears to have been killed with a single gunshot wound to the chest. Now the sniper appears to have gotten away. It's not clear whether the rest of his unit either saw him or returned fire. We're still getting in those details, but it appears to have happened on an overnight patrol in the north of Baghdad.
Also in Baghdad, in western Baghdad, a car exploded last night injuring two people. It's the latest in a series of incidents that have happened in and around Baghdad. We don't want to imply that the city is exploding in violence, but for Iraqis, it's very unusual. This was a very safe city, and it's very troubling and very frightening for many people.
Now the U.S. military is still continuing that crack down, Operation Desert Scorpion, in which it's scouring the countryside, particularly areas north and west of Baghdad. West, including the city, the region of Habinea (ph), which is part of that troubled region where there have been frequent attacks against U.S. soldiers.
Now the military is going door to door, going through towns, neighborhoods, looking for what they call pockets of resistance, Saddam loyalists, Ba'ath Party members, other armed groups and major weapons caches. Here in Baghdad, the military says they've so far detained 156 people in that operation and captured things, including rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. They've been trying to get people to turn in their weapons voluntarily, but so far that has not been a rousing success -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane, I'm just curious, so they're detaining those -- these people, what are they doing with them? Are they holding them indefinitely?
ARRAF: They're holding them for questioning, but that really is a gray area, what sort of laws they're operating under, what they're doing with them, where they're being held. Now the U.S. administrator here is expected to make some announcements later today about getting the justice system up and running.
But as for these people, all the way from the people on the most wanted list to just ordinary Iraqis that are being rounded up in these overnight raids, there really isn't any clear definition of how they're being held, what laws they're being held under, how they're being treated and what's happening to them. We occasionally get these figures that say some of them were detained and some were released, but not many details after that and it is causing some alarm here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, live from Baghdad this morning, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
