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CNN Live At Daybreak
Bloodshed in Baghdad
Aired September 24, 2003 - 06:33 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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's not even been 24 hours after President Bush's speech there was more bloodshed in Baghdad.
Our Michael Holmes joins us live from the Iraqi capital with more details.
Hi -- Michael.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yes, bloodshed indeed, not American bloodshed, even though American troops were the target of what occurred just a few hours ago here in Baghdad.
A U.S. military Humvee was driving along a fairly busy street in the Al-Amadi (ph) area of Baghdad. It's an area known for action in the past and incidents like the one we saw today. An explosion went off as this Humvee was driving along.
Now, what happened is that the Humvee was an armored vehicle and only received slight damage. That's not the case for two commuter buses, small buses that carried maybe 20 passengers. They're seen all over Iraq. And they were traveling close to the Humvee and were, in fact, caught up in a couple of other explosions that took place, what the U.S. military calls a daisy chain effect, where there is a preliminary explosion and then one or more others after it.
Here's what one witness saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED AHMED, EYEWITNESS (through translator): We were sitting here, and all of a sudden there was an explosion, dust and smoke. People fell and the girl had her arm chopped off and loose. And one man was killed in the minibus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: There was a boy -- a 17-year-old boy was the fatality in this incident. Twelve other people, we're told by doctors at a major hospital here, were wounded. However, seven of those were allowed to go home after being treated, five remain in hospitals, at least a couple in critical condition, we're told.
As I said, Carol, this is an area that has seen other action before. And, in fact, less than 12 hours earlier, U.S. troops and Iraqi police were on a joint foot patrol not one kilometer from the scene of today's explosions when another explosion went off. Three U.S. troops were wounded, three Iraqi policemen also wounded. These attacks on coalition forces now, of course, are causing death and injury among Iraqi civilians was well, and they are becoming more and more common around Iraq and here in Baghdad -- Carol.
LIN: Stay safe out there, Michael Holmes. Thank you very much for reporting live from Baghdad.
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 24, 2003 - 06:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's not even been 24 hours after President Bush's speech there was more bloodshed in Baghdad.
Our Michael Holmes joins us live from the Iraqi capital with more details.
Hi -- Michael.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yes, bloodshed indeed, not American bloodshed, even though American troops were the target of what occurred just a few hours ago here in Baghdad.
A U.S. military Humvee was driving along a fairly busy street in the Al-Amadi (ph) area of Baghdad. It's an area known for action in the past and incidents like the one we saw today. An explosion went off as this Humvee was driving along.
Now, what happened is that the Humvee was an armored vehicle and only received slight damage. That's not the case for two commuter buses, small buses that carried maybe 20 passengers. They're seen all over Iraq. And they were traveling close to the Humvee and were, in fact, caught up in a couple of other explosions that took place, what the U.S. military calls a daisy chain effect, where there is a preliminary explosion and then one or more others after it.
Here's what one witness saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED AHMED, EYEWITNESS (through translator): We were sitting here, and all of a sudden there was an explosion, dust and smoke. People fell and the girl had her arm chopped off and loose. And one man was killed in the minibus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: There was a boy -- a 17-year-old boy was the fatality in this incident. Twelve other people, we're told by doctors at a major hospital here, were wounded. However, seven of those were allowed to go home after being treated, five remain in hospitals, at least a couple in critical condition, we're told.
As I said, Carol, this is an area that has seen other action before. And, in fact, less than 12 hours earlier, U.S. troops and Iraqi police were on a joint foot patrol not one kilometer from the scene of today's explosions when another explosion went off. Three U.S. troops were wounded, three Iraqi policemen also wounded. These attacks on coalition forces now, of course, are causing death and injury among Iraqi civilians was well, and they are becoming more and more common around Iraq and here in Baghdad -- Carol.
LIN: Stay safe out there, Michael Holmes. Thank you very much for reporting live from Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
