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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Military's Secret Mission in Iraq

Aired June 23, 2003 - 06:31   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: The military is confirming this morning a secret operations unit pulled off a special mission last week. In the aftermath, Defense officials say an unknown number of Iraqis believed to have ties to Saddam Hussein's government were either captured or killed.
Here is CNN Pentagon reporter Chris Plante to fill in the blanks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The attack in question was launched on Wednesday by a special operations force known as Task Force 20, whose main mission is to pursue Saddam Hussein, his sons and other senior regime officials that are still on the loose.

The attack began with air strikes, including Hellfire missiles, which blew up the vehicles in the convoy, and then was quickly followed by ground forces swarming the location, where they found that a number of people had been killed, but some remained alive. They have been taken into U.S. custody, and intelligence officers are questioning them now.

A senior administration official tells CNN that the site is still being exploited, meaning they're picking through it to see if they can learn anything in the way of intelligence from what remains in the wreckage. There had been initial reports early on that the target of this attack might have been Saddam Hussein and/or at least one of his sons, but U.S. officials say that that's not the case. They are still attempting to identify some of the bodies in the wreckage from the attack, but it's believed that Saddam Hussein and his sons are still on the loose in Iraq, and Task Force 20 is still pursuing them.

Chris Plante, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 23, 2003 - 06:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The military is confirming this morning a secret operations unit pulled off a special mission last week. In the aftermath, Defense officials say an unknown number of Iraqis believed to have ties to Saddam Hussein's government were either captured or killed.
Here is CNN Pentagon reporter Chris Plante to fill in the blanks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The attack in question was launched on Wednesday by a special operations force known as Task Force 20, whose main mission is to pursue Saddam Hussein, his sons and other senior regime officials that are still on the loose.

The attack began with air strikes, including Hellfire missiles, which blew up the vehicles in the convoy, and then was quickly followed by ground forces swarming the location, where they found that a number of people had been killed, but some remained alive. They have been taken into U.S. custody, and intelligence officers are questioning them now.

A senior administration official tells CNN that the site is still being exploited, meaning they're picking through it to see if they can learn anything in the way of intelligence from what remains in the wreckage. There had been initial reports early on that the target of this attack might have been Saddam Hussein and/or at least one of his sons, but U.S. officials say that that's not the case. They are still attempting to identify some of the bodies in the wreckage from the attack, but it's believed that Saddam Hussein and his sons are still on the loose in Iraq, and Task Force 20 is still pursuing them.

Chris Plante, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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