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CNN Live Today
Two U.S. Soldiers Killed, Another Wounded When Patrol was Hit by Grenade
Aired July 28, 2003 - 10:35 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A familiar scene is playing out in Iraq today. Two U.S. soldiers were killed and another wounded when their patrol was hit by a grenade. Our Rym Brahimi is live in Baghdad where guerrilla attacks are happening almost every day. Rym, hello.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Daryn. Indeed, a U.S. patrol was apparently hit by an explosive. That's what U.S. military officials say here in Baghdad.
Eyewitnesses say the Humvee of the soldiers from the 1st Airborne Division here were just underneath a bridge and from over the bridge somebody threw a grenade that landed in the Humvee. They say they saw three soldiers basically be ejected from that Humvee and two of them were killed.
Now U.S. officials are not yet confirming any deaths but they're saying that there are casualties. They also had to cordon off the area searching for the possibility that there would still be explosive devices in that same neighborhood.
Now as you know, as you were mentioning, Daryn, that's not the first attack. There have been several attacks. In fact, this has been the bloodiest week for U.S. soldiers here in Iraq with some 15 soldiers killed just in the past week. There's also been, at the same time, a certain number of raids that the U.S. military have been conducting in their search for Saddam Hussein.
Now, many of these raids have taken place in Tikrit and one in Baghdad yesterday afternoon in which they failed to turn up Saddam Hussein, but they killed three civilians.
The raids in Tikrit, on the other hand, were raids that happened yesterday and this morning. And yesterday's raid, predawn raids, all three of them simultaneously, at three different farms, military officials say they were acting on intelligence that Saddam Hussein may have been in one of those farms. But residents in the area apparently told them that they just missed his security chief by barely 24 hours.
This morning, another raid in Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Again, they didn't turn up with Saddam Hussein, but they did find a cache of weapons and a lot of people who seem to be supporting Saddam Hussein there, as well. Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: With the raid on the two sons it appears that the reward had a big influence, $15 million on either head. Is word circulating throughout Iraq about that huge sum and even the larger reward out there for Saddam Hussein?
BRAHIMI: Well, it appears that probably people are now aware of that reward as they became aware of it when the two sons of Saddam Hussein were turned in, if you will, for $30 million. That said, it was also frowned upon by a lot of people who thought that it wasn't a very honorable thing to do either.
So if they are coming forward, many people wouldn't necessarily be acknowledging that they are coming forward for the reward itself. U.S. military officials have been reportedly saying that in the past few days after the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein a lot of people have been walking in to tip them off, give them hints and indications of the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein and so that's why they've been getting much more intelligence.
But again, there's a whole part of -- there may be a lot of people who would hesitate. Again, it was frowned upon. And a lot of people, despite the fact that Uday and Qusay Hussein were very much hated and feared, also maybe resented a little bit the fact that the U.S. killed in this attack them rather than allowing the Iraqis to carry out some form of justice with regard to those two sons -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Rym Brahimi in Baghdad. Rym, thank you for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Hit by Grenade>
Aired July 28, 2003 - 10:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A familiar scene is playing out in Iraq today. Two U.S. soldiers were killed and another wounded when their patrol was hit by a grenade. Our Rym Brahimi is live in Baghdad where guerrilla attacks are happening almost every day. Rym, hello.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Daryn. Indeed, a U.S. patrol was apparently hit by an explosive. That's what U.S. military officials say here in Baghdad.
Eyewitnesses say the Humvee of the soldiers from the 1st Airborne Division here were just underneath a bridge and from over the bridge somebody threw a grenade that landed in the Humvee. They say they saw three soldiers basically be ejected from that Humvee and two of them were killed.
Now U.S. officials are not yet confirming any deaths but they're saying that there are casualties. They also had to cordon off the area searching for the possibility that there would still be explosive devices in that same neighborhood.
Now as you know, as you were mentioning, Daryn, that's not the first attack. There have been several attacks. In fact, this has been the bloodiest week for U.S. soldiers here in Iraq with some 15 soldiers killed just in the past week. There's also been, at the same time, a certain number of raids that the U.S. military have been conducting in their search for Saddam Hussein.
Now, many of these raids have taken place in Tikrit and one in Baghdad yesterday afternoon in which they failed to turn up Saddam Hussein, but they killed three civilians.
The raids in Tikrit, on the other hand, were raids that happened yesterday and this morning. And yesterday's raid, predawn raids, all three of them simultaneously, at three different farms, military officials say they were acting on intelligence that Saddam Hussein may have been in one of those farms. But residents in the area apparently told them that they just missed his security chief by barely 24 hours.
This morning, another raid in Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Again, they didn't turn up with Saddam Hussein, but they did find a cache of weapons and a lot of people who seem to be supporting Saddam Hussein there, as well. Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: With the raid on the two sons it appears that the reward had a big influence, $15 million on either head. Is word circulating throughout Iraq about that huge sum and even the larger reward out there for Saddam Hussein?
BRAHIMI: Well, it appears that probably people are now aware of that reward as they became aware of it when the two sons of Saddam Hussein were turned in, if you will, for $30 million. That said, it was also frowned upon by a lot of people who thought that it wasn't a very honorable thing to do either.
So if they are coming forward, many people wouldn't necessarily be acknowledging that they are coming forward for the reward itself. U.S. military officials have been reportedly saying that in the past few days after the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein a lot of people have been walking in to tip them off, give them hints and indications of the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein and so that's why they've been getting much more intelligence.
But again, there's a whole part of -- there may be a lot of people who would hesitate. Again, it was frowned upon. And a lot of people, despite the fact that Uday and Qusay Hussein were very much hated and feared, also maybe resented a little bit the fact that the U.S. killed in this attack them rather than allowing the Iraqis to carry out some form of justice with regard to those two sons -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Rym Brahimi in Baghdad. Rym, thank you for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Hit by Grenade>
