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CNN Live At Daybreak
Closing in on Saddam Hussein?
Aired July 28, 2003 - 05:04 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: U.S. forces have stepped up their search for Saddam Hussein. Acting on tips, they've conducted several raids this morning. One military source said Saddam Hussein is on the run, but U.S. forces are closing in.
CNN's Nic Robertson has this update from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In their stepped-up hunt for Saddam Hussein, U.S. soldiers hide from cameras the removal of an Iraqi body from a car. Not long before, according to witnesses, the white Toyota Corolla was shot at by U.S. troops.
"It came out of one of the side streets," he says. "The Americans started signaling him to slow down. As he was slowing, they fired at him."
According to people in this up-market residential neighborhood of Baghdad, at least three people in that car, who they say were innocent passersby, were killed by what the residents describe as special- looking U.S. troops, who appeared to be on a raid.
The driver of another car:
"A bystander was signaling us to slow down. I was not going fast," he says. "Right after that, we were fired upon. My brother said, 'Ouch, my stomach,' and the windshield shattered."
At the scene, Iraqi police said the target of the raid was Saddam Hussein. And coalition officials confirmed the elite Task Force 20 squad, detailed with capturing the former Iraqi leader, were involved.
Overnight and to the north in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, U.S. troops raided three farmhouses. U.S. officials tell CNN they were acting on intelligence Saddam Hussein was inside one of the buildings. The former president wasn't found, and neither was his chief of security, who was also suspected of hiding out in what many coalition officials consider to be the heartland of support for the ousted leader.
(on camera): U.S. officials say they've got Saddam Hussein -- quote -- "on the run," that they're closing in on him, but he moves location every three to four hours, which, if correct, means he's been moving cities frequently -- recently in Mosul, according to some reports earlier in the week; on Saturday night in Tikrit; and on Sunday on the streets of Baghdad.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(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 July 28, 2003 - 05:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. forces have stepped up their search for Saddam Hussein. Acting on tips, they've conducted several raids this morning. One military source said Saddam Hussein is on the run, but U.S. forces are closing in.
CNN's Nic Robertson has this update from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In their stepped-up hunt for Saddam Hussein, U.S. soldiers hide from cameras the removal of an Iraqi body from a car. Not long before, according to witnesses, the white Toyota Corolla was shot at by U.S. troops.
"It came out of one of the side streets," he says. "The Americans started signaling him to slow down. As he was slowing, they fired at him."
According to people in this up-market residential neighborhood of Baghdad, at least three people in that car, who they say were innocent passersby, were killed by what the residents describe as special- looking U.S. troops, who appeared to be on a raid.
The driver of another car:
"A bystander was signaling us to slow down. I was not going fast," he says. "Right after that, we were fired upon. My brother said, 'Ouch, my stomach,' and the windshield shattered."
At the scene, Iraqi police said the target of the raid was Saddam Hussein. And coalition officials confirmed the elite Task Force 20 squad, detailed with capturing the former Iraqi leader, were involved.
Overnight and to the north in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, U.S. troops raided three farmhouses. U.S. officials tell CNN they were acting on intelligence Saddam Hussein was inside one of the buildings. The former president wasn't found, and neither was his chief of security, who was also suspected of hiding out in what many coalition officials consider to be the heartland of support for the ousted leader.
(on camera): U.S. officials say they've got Saddam Hussein -- quote -- "on the run," that they're closing in on him, but he moves location every three to four hours, which, if correct, means he's been moving cities frequently -- recently in Mosul, according to some reports earlier in the week; on Saturday night in Tikrit; and on Sunday on the streets of Baghdad.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(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.
