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CNN Live At Daybreak
More U.S. Raids in Tikrit Area
Aired August 04, 2003 - 05:34 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: To Iraq now, where there have been more U.S. raids in the Tikrit area.
Let's take you live to Baghdad now and Rym Brahimi to tell us what's going on today.
Hello -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there.
Indeed, a series of raids. You know, dozens of them have been conducted in the past 24 hours, again a focus on the Tikrit area. In the past 24 hours, a certain number of raids were conducted there, until even this morning.
Yesterday, the 4th Infantry Division conducted raids that led to the arrests of 26 people, including two key low-level -- or mid-level, rather, former regime loyalists. They also were able to seize a certain number of weapons. They seized some 162 hand grenades, 9 rocket-propelled grenades, as well as lots of dynamite. And they seized the equivalent of some hundred thousand dollars in Iraqi dinars.
And in another raid conducted by the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, it was able to seize, they're saying, some 20 people, a lot of them loyalists from the formerly ruling Baath Party regime. Also, one of them was actually someone quite high up in the regime, apparently.
Basically, Carol, all of these raids that have been carried out, you know, they aim ultimately at capturing, of course, Saddam Hussein. That's the end game. But they indirectly aim at capturing Saddam Hussein in the sense that these raids are more about trying to deny the former Iraqi leader safe houses or people that he can hide with or people that can help him. And so, that's why there are all of these arrests, and that's why they go to many houses simultaneously, basically trying to make sure that Saddam Hussein remains on the run.
And then the next question, of course, becomes if they do capture Saddam Hussein alive, for instance, what would happen to him? What would they do with him? Well, the coalition is still in the process of looking through that, refining that process, but mainly, they say, they would want Iraqis to take Saddam Hussein to trial -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad 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 August 4, 2003 - 05:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: To Iraq now, where there have been more U.S. raids in the Tikrit area.
Let's take you live to Baghdad now and Rym Brahimi to tell us what's going on today.
Hello -- Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there.
Indeed, a series of raids. You know, dozens of them have been conducted in the past 24 hours, again a focus on the Tikrit area. In the past 24 hours, a certain number of raids were conducted there, until even this morning.
Yesterday, the 4th Infantry Division conducted raids that led to the arrests of 26 people, including two key low-level -- or mid-level, rather, former regime loyalists. They also were able to seize a certain number of weapons. They seized some 162 hand grenades, 9 rocket-propelled grenades, as well as lots of dynamite. And they seized the equivalent of some hundred thousand dollars in Iraqi dinars.
And in another raid conducted by the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, it was able to seize, they're saying, some 20 people, a lot of them loyalists from the formerly ruling Baath Party regime. Also, one of them was actually someone quite high up in the regime, apparently.
Basically, Carol, all of these raids that have been carried out, you know, they aim ultimately at capturing, of course, Saddam Hussein. That's the end game. But they indirectly aim at capturing Saddam Hussein in the sense that these raids are more about trying to deny the former Iraqi leader safe houses or people that he can hide with or people that can help him. And so, that's why there are all of these arrests, and that's why they go to many houses simultaneously, basically trying to make sure that Saddam Hussein remains on the run.
And then the next question, of course, becomes if they do capture Saddam Hussein alive, for instance, what would happen to him? What would they do with him? Well, the coalition is still in the process of looking through that, refining that process, but mainly, they say, they would want Iraqis to take Saddam Hussein to trial -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rym Brahimi reporting live from Baghdad 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.
