Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
U.N. Car Bombing
Aired September 22, 2003 - 11:24 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A car bomb exploded outside of U.N. headquarters in Iraq today. The carnage there is less devastating than last month's suicide attack. However, the psychological impact is just as jarring.
CNN's senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers checks in from Baghdad. He's got the very latest for us this morning from that site.
Hello, Walt.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
U.N. officials here in Baghdad are now saying that the United Nations is reconsidering the level of its presence in Iraq. One U.N. official called this a high-risk war zone. Translate that, the U.N. is thinking it is not safe for its people here anymore to conduct their vaccination and water purification programs, especially after this second attempt to bomb the U.N. compound in Baghdad in a month.
One official here was saying the U.N. finds itself in a very, very difficult situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIA PARADELLA, DIR. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: how many more people needs to die for the U.N. to operate here? I mean, we need to operate in safe conditions, and conditions where we can work with the Iraqis to improve key infrastructure, to give key humanitarian assistance in a very difficult time in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODGERS: Now this suicide bombing against the United Nations compound in Baghdad today was not nearly as devastating as the one a month ago, August 19th, when 23 people were killed. One of the reasons it was not so devastating was because the United Nations and the coalition forces have pushed the security perimeter, the fence back, much further away from the building. When the suicide bomber approached the building today, he was stopped at the outer layer, the outer security perimeter. When he saw he could go no further, U.S. Army officials say it was at that point that he decided to detonate the car bomb as close as he could get. He killed himself. He killed an Iraqi police security official as well. Indeed, there's 18 or 19 Iraqis and others in hospital tonight, most of them injured in that blast, and many of them were Iraqi police.
Back to you.
HARRIS: Thank you very much, Walter. Walt Rodgers, reporting live to us from Baghdad. The evening hours there. Appreciate that. Be careful, Walt.
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 September 22, 2003 - 11:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A car bomb exploded outside of U.N. headquarters in Iraq today. The carnage there is less devastating than last month's suicide attack. However, the psychological impact is just as jarring.
CNN's senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers checks in from Baghdad. He's got the very latest for us this morning from that site.
Hello, Walt.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
U.N. officials here in Baghdad are now saying that the United Nations is reconsidering the level of its presence in Iraq. One U.N. official called this a high-risk war zone. Translate that, the U.N. is thinking it is not safe for its people here anymore to conduct their vaccination and water purification programs, especially after this second attempt to bomb the U.N. compound in Baghdad in a month.
One official here was saying the U.N. finds itself in a very, very difficult situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIA PARADELLA, DIR. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: how many more people needs to die for the U.N. to operate here? I mean, we need to operate in safe conditions, and conditions where we can work with the Iraqis to improve key infrastructure, to give key humanitarian assistance in a very difficult time in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODGERS: Now this suicide bombing against the United Nations compound in Baghdad today was not nearly as devastating as the one a month ago, August 19th, when 23 people were killed. One of the reasons it was not so devastating was because the United Nations and the coalition forces have pushed the security perimeter, the fence back, much further away from the building. When the suicide bomber approached the building today, he was stopped at the outer layer, the outer security perimeter. When he saw he could go no further, U.S. Army officials say it was at that point that he decided to detonate the car bomb as close as he could get. He killed himself. He killed an Iraqi police security official as well. Indeed, there's 18 or 19 Iraqis and others in hospital tonight, most of them injured in that blast, and many of them were Iraqi police.
Back to you.
HARRIS: Thank you very much, Walter. Walt Rodgers, reporting live to us from Baghdad. The evening hours there. Appreciate that. Be careful, Walt.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
