Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

New Violence in Iraq

Aired July 01, 2003 - 05:12   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: As promised, we told you about new violence in Iraq targeted maybe against U.S. soldiers. Let's head there live now.
Jane Arraf is live on the phone, actually -- Jane, what happened out there?

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, there's an awful lot of -- they're in a lot of places. We're just getting details now of a recent attack near a university. It's called Mustansiriyah University and it appears to have been an attack on an armored vehicle, a Humvee.

Now, witnesses on the ground are telling us that three American soldiers were injured. Two of them appear to have been critically injured. A third is in unknown condition and one Iraqi appears to be dead. Again, that's a possible rocket propelled grenade attack on an armored vehicle.

In addition, U.S. officials here are confirming another RPG grenade attack on a highway. One soldier was wounded in that this morning as he was traveling in his vehicle and he came under fire from that RPG.

In Falluja, as you know, which is a town west of here that just has not calmed down since violence erupted there in April, we're still sifting through the details, trying to find out what exactly happened. It was a huge explosion either at or next to a mosque late last night. And witnesses there say that several Iraqis were killed and many more injured. And we're still trying to get the count there. U.S. officials say they're investigating. But they say it was not, contrary to local reports, a U.S. strike, but it was explosives stored in the building that went off.

But whatever it is, people there are very, very angry and there are reports of an attack on a U.S. patrol following that explosion by angry residents of Falluja -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane, perhaps it's not a fair question, but the U.S. military has many operations there to quell such violence. Do you think it's working?

ARRAF: It's really a matter of not being able to just go in there and use all of the force at their disposal. If they do that, it would be extremely difficult for them to continue to operate in places like Falluja, which is basically a very conservative town. And things like going in and even doing house to house searches, going into women's bedrooms, knocking down doors, breaking down doors, things they say are necessary and routine in searches, have really inflamed the local population.

Now, a lot of these incidents that we have seen have been in response to Iraqis being killed. It's one of those unfortunate things that as soon as this sparks, it can spark a fire that will be extremely difficult to put out in terms of anger that spreads among the local population.

This is, after all, troop force, U.S. troops that are going to stay for a long time, by all accounts, and they really do have to make sure that things work on the ground rather than using overwhelming force -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane Arraf live from Baghdad this morning.

Many thanks for the 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 July 1, 2003 - 05:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As promised, we told you about new violence in Iraq targeted maybe against U.S. soldiers. Let's head there live now.
Jane Arraf is live on the phone, actually -- Jane, what happened out there?

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, there's an awful lot of -- they're in a lot of places. We're just getting details now of a recent attack near a university. It's called Mustansiriyah University and it appears to have been an attack on an armored vehicle, a Humvee.

Now, witnesses on the ground are telling us that three American soldiers were injured. Two of them appear to have been critically injured. A third is in unknown condition and one Iraqi appears to be dead. Again, that's a possible rocket propelled grenade attack on an armored vehicle.

In addition, U.S. officials here are confirming another RPG grenade attack on a highway. One soldier was wounded in that this morning as he was traveling in his vehicle and he came under fire from that RPG.

In Falluja, as you know, which is a town west of here that just has not calmed down since violence erupted there in April, we're still sifting through the details, trying to find out what exactly happened. It was a huge explosion either at or next to a mosque late last night. And witnesses there say that several Iraqis were killed and many more injured. And we're still trying to get the count there. U.S. officials say they're investigating. But they say it was not, contrary to local reports, a U.S. strike, but it was explosives stored in the building that went off.

But whatever it is, people there are very, very angry and there are reports of an attack on a U.S. patrol following that explosion by angry residents of Falluja -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane, perhaps it's not a fair question, but the U.S. military has many operations there to quell such violence. Do you think it's working?

ARRAF: It's really a matter of not being able to just go in there and use all of the force at their disposal. If they do that, it would be extremely difficult for them to continue to operate in places like Falluja, which is basically a very conservative town. And things like going in and even doing house to house searches, going into women's bedrooms, knocking down doors, breaking down doors, things they say are necessary and routine in searches, have really inflamed the local population.

Now, a lot of these incidents that we have seen have been in response to Iraqis being killed. It's one of those unfortunate things that as soon as this sparks, it can spark a fire that will be extremely difficult to put out in terms of anger that spreads among the local population.

This is, after all, troop force, U.S. troops that are going to stay for a long time, by all accounts, and they really do have to make sure that things work on the ground rather than using overwhelming force -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jane Arraf live from Baghdad this morning.

Many thanks for the 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