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CNN Live At Daybreak
Explosion at Mosque Outside Baghdad Could Fuel More Attacks
Aired July 02, 2003 - 05:03 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: One of the six U.S. troops injured in attacks Tuesday in Baghdad has died. U.S. commanders in Iraq are telling their troops to stay vigilant, stay alert.
And as our Nic Robertson reports from Baghdad, an explosion at a mosque outside Baghdad could fuel more attacks on Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A smoldering wheel hub the only recognizable remains of the latest attack on a U.S. military Humvee. According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade, or RPG, fired by civilians from a passing car.
"We saw one of the Americans with his fingers missing," he says. "The other two were in critical condition."
U.S. officials confirm these casualties and say an Iraqi interpreter traveling with the troops was killed. Less than 20 kilometers away, in another RPG attack, a U.S. military truck was damaged. U.S. officials say two soldiers were wounded in that attack and one more injured in a third RPG attack north of Baghdad, in the area being scoured for regime officials in Operation Sidewinder.
(on camera): Impossible to say whether this latest series of attacks is in response to Operation Sidewinder. The increasing U.S. casualty toll, however, highlights the urgency facing the coalition in tracking down its opponents.
(voice-over): An opposition increasingly seen by coalition officials as trained and partially organized.
PAUL BREMER, U.S. ADMINISTRATION IN IRAQ: The great majority of the attacks are from ex-members -- members of the ex-regime, the Baathists, Fedayeen Saddam, demobilized Republican Guard, members of the SSO.
ROBERTSON: The potential for further attacks on troops raised by an overnight explosion at a mosque in Falluja, west of Baghdad. According to local hospital officials, the casualties included at least six dead, most pulled from the rubble of the destroyed out building in the mosque compound. Already a town renowned for friction between Iraqis and U.S. troops, blame quickly heaped on the coalition.
"They were responsible for the incident," he says. "It was a plane that fired. Eyewitnesses have seen it." While U.S. officials investigate the explosion, rumors of U.S. responsibility will likely already be rampant, creating the potential for more trouble ahead.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And despite this spate of attacks on U.S. troops, President Bush says he is staying the course. He says he is committed to establishing a democracy in the region.
CNN's senior White House correspondent John King has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president vowed to stay the course in Iraq and to destroy those responsible for attacking American troops.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These groups believe they have found an opportunity to harm America, to shake our resolve in the war on terror and to cause us to leave Iraq before freedom is fully established. They are wrong and they will not succeed.
KING: The president blamed three distinct sources for the attacks -- Saddam Hussein loyalists hoping to regain power, indigenous Iraqi terrorist groups and foreign fighters entering Iraq for the chance to attack Americans and cause political turmoil.
BUSH: The restoration of that country is critical to the defeat of terror and radicalism throughout the Middle East. With so much in the balance, it comes as no surprise that freedom has enemies inside of Iraq.
KING: Six soldiers were wounded in fresh attacks Tuesday and 23 Americans have been killed by hostile fire since Mr. Bush declared major combat operations over two months ago. The president's new assessment of the war effort was an effort to stop a skeptical shift in public opinion. More than four in 10 Americans now say things in Iraq are going badly and nearly half say they are not confident attacks on U.S. troops will stop.
BUSH: We will stay on the offensive against the enemy and all who attack our troops will be met with direct and decisive force.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if you would raise your right hand and repeat after me.
KING: Mr. Bush used this reenlistment ceremony at the White House to claim significant progress in dismantling al Qaeda.
(on camera): But the dicey situation in Iraq is overshadowing any progress in the broader war on terrorism, and administration officials who initially called the attacks isolated episodes now say stopping them is an urgent challenge.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Get a feel for the situation in Iraq on our Web site. Log on to cnn.com for animation of various urban combat patrol scenarios, as well as a special report on the reconstruction of Iraq. AOL keyword, of course, CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Attacks>
Aired July 2, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: One of the six U.S. troops injured in attacks Tuesday in Baghdad has died. U.S. commanders in Iraq are telling their troops to stay vigilant, stay alert.
And as our Nic Robertson reports from Baghdad, an explosion at a mosque outside Baghdad could fuel more attacks on Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A smoldering wheel hub the only recognizable remains of the latest attack on a U.S. military Humvee. According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade, or RPG, fired by civilians from a passing car.
"We saw one of the Americans with his fingers missing," he says. "The other two were in critical condition."
U.S. officials confirm these casualties and say an Iraqi interpreter traveling with the troops was killed. Less than 20 kilometers away, in another RPG attack, a U.S. military truck was damaged. U.S. officials say two soldiers were wounded in that attack and one more injured in a third RPG attack north of Baghdad, in the area being scoured for regime officials in Operation Sidewinder.
(on camera): Impossible to say whether this latest series of attacks is in response to Operation Sidewinder. The increasing U.S. casualty toll, however, highlights the urgency facing the coalition in tracking down its opponents.
(voice-over): An opposition increasingly seen by coalition officials as trained and partially organized.
PAUL BREMER, U.S. ADMINISTRATION IN IRAQ: The great majority of the attacks are from ex-members -- members of the ex-regime, the Baathists, Fedayeen Saddam, demobilized Republican Guard, members of the SSO.
ROBERTSON: The potential for further attacks on troops raised by an overnight explosion at a mosque in Falluja, west of Baghdad. According to local hospital officials, the casualties included at least six dead, most pulled from the rubble of the destroyed out building in the mosque compound. Already a town renowned for friction between Iraqis and U.S. troops, blame quickly heaped on the coalition.
"They were responsible for the incident," he says. "It was a plane that fired. Eyewitnesses have seen it." While U.S. officials investigate the explosion, rumors of U.S. responsibility will likely already be rampant, creating the potential for more trouble ahead.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And despite this spate of attacks on U.S. troops, President Bush says he is staying the course. He says he is committed to establishing a democracy in the region.
CNN's senior White House correspondent John King has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president vowed to stay the course in Iraq and to destroy those responsible for attacking American troops.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These groups believe they have found an opportunity to harm America, to shake our resolve in the war on terror and to cause us to leave Iraq before freedom is fully established. They are wrong and they will not succeed.
KING: The president blamed three distinct sources for the attacks -- Saddam Hussein loyalists hoping to regain power, indigenous Iraqi terrorist groups and foreign fighters entering Iraq for the chance to attack Americans and cause political turmoil.
BUSH: The restoration of that country is critical to the defeat of terror and radicalism throughout the Middle East. With so much in the balance, it comes as no surprise that freedom has enemies inside of Iraq.
KING: Six soldiers were wounded in fresh attacks Tuesday and 23 Americans have been killed by hostile fire since Mr. Bush declared major combat operations over two months ago. The president's new assessment of the war effort was an effort to stop a skeptical shift in public opinion. More than four in 10 Americans now say things in Iraq are going badly and nearly half say they are not confident attacks on U.S. troops will stop.
BUSH: We will stay on the offensive against the enemy and all who attack our troops will be met with direct and decisive force.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if you would raise your right hand and repeat after me.
KING: Mr. Bush used this reenlistment ceremony at the White House to claim significant progress in dismantling al Qaeda.
(on camera): But the dicey situation in Iraq is overshadowing any progress in the broader war on terrorism, and administration officials who initially called the attacks isolated episodes now say stopping them is an urgent challenge.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Get a feel for the situation in Iraq on our Web site. Log on to cnn.com for animation of various urban combat patrol scenarios, as well as a special report on the reconstruction of Iraq. AOL keyword, of course, CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Attacks>
