Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
British Troops Killed
Aired June 25, 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour, though, in southern Iraq, a tense flashpoint, where an angry mob attacked and killed six British troops. We have been talking about this all morning. The reason for the clash is under investigation now. And British forces have given civilian leaders 48 hours to give up the killer.
CNN's Jason Bellini is in the Iraqi capital now with more on this situation.
Jason, hello.
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello.
Well, Heidi, well, we're just beginning to get the details of what happened there, how six soldiers died yesterday. CNN's Ben Wedeman is down there and has talked to local people, and the story goes like this: Yesterday, British military police entered the town of Majar Al Kabir (ph), and when they entered this town, people there were under the standing that there was an agreement between village elders and the military police that they wouldn't go in to confiscate weapons.
Well, the British weren't there to confiscate weapons, but the locals didn't realize that. The young people came on the street and began to throw stones, and a mob gathered around. Things deteriorated from there, leading to the British had to fire warning shots, and then when they came under fire, they used live ammunition. Two British policeman were killed there at that spot. The rest, they fled to the police station in Al Majar Al Kabi, and there at that police station, an angry mob, people who went back to their homes, got their weapons, came to this police station. They came in, and they killed another four British soldiers there at that police station. The Iraqi police who were there, they fled out the window.
Now, in a separate incident in the same town yesterday, a British military convoy came under attack. Now, they called in for re- enforcements, and then a Chinook 47 helicopter with a rapid reaction force came in, and they came under fire as they were landing to try to relieve this convoy that was under attack. Seven soldiers there were injured in that attack. Three of them, we understand, were injured seriously.
This day yesterday was very difficult day for the coalition, because elsewhere around Iraq, there were a number of other attacks, 25 in total being reported by the coalition. Now the British are saying they don't see any connection right now between the tragic events in the south and what's been going on for the last two months in the rest of Iraq. The British have been very lucky to this point.
But now, they have to deal with the death of six soldiers -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Jason. Thanks so very much for the update, coming to us live from Iraq 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 June 25, 2003 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour, though, in southern Iraq, a tense flashpoint, where an angry mob attacked and killed six British troops. We have been talking about this all morning. The reason for the clash is under investigation now. And British forces have given civilian leaders 48 hours to give up the killer.
CNN's Jason Bellini is in the Iraqi capital now with more on this situation.
Jason, hello.
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello.
Well, Heidi, well, we're just beginning to get the details of what happened there, how six soldiers died yesterday. CNN's Ben Wedeman is down there and has talked to local people, and the story goes like this: Yesterday, British military police entered the town of Majar Al Kabir (ph), and when they entered this town, people there were under the standing that there was an agreement between village elders and the military police that they wouldn't go in to confiscate weapons.
Well, the British weren't there to confiscate weapons, but the locals didn't realize that. The young people came on the street and began to throw stones, and a mob gathered around. Things deteriorated from there, leading to the British had to fire warning shots, and then when they came under fire, they used live ammunition. Two British policeman were killed there at that spot. The rest, they fled to the police station in Al Majar Al Kabi, and there at that police station, an angry mob, people who went back to their homes, got their weapons, came to this police station. They came in, and they killed another four British soldiers there at that police station. The Iraqi police who were there, they fled out the window.
Now, in a separate incident in the same town yesterday, a British military convoy came under attack. Now, they called in for re- enforcements, and then a Chinook 47 helicopter with a rapid reaction force came in, and they came under fire as they were landing to try to relieve this convoy that was under attack. Seven soldiers there were injured in that attack. Three of them, we understand, were injured seriously.
This day yesterday was very difficult day for the coalition, because elsewhere around Iraq, there were a number of other attacks, 25 in total being reported by the coalition. Now the British are saying they don't see any connection right now between the tragic events in the south and what's been going on for the last two months in the rest of Iraq. The British have been very lucky to this point.
But now, they have to deal with the death of six soldiers -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Jason. Thanks so very much for the update, coming to us live from Iraq 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
