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CNN Live Today
Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq
Aired October 10, 2003 - 10:00 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: We begin this hour in Iraq where two U.S. soldiers have been killed but there's little agreement on what triggered the firefight. Coalition officials say the soldiers were lured into an ambush as they patrolled the Baghdad city, the site of yesterday's bombing after police station. Iraqis say the Americans opened fire first.
Let's get the latest now from the capital can CNN correspondent Harris Whitbeck.
Good morning, Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
As you say, Sadr City was the site of that ambush, in which two soldiers killed, four of them were wounded during the incident, an incident described by a military spokesman here as a routine patrol that suddenly went horribly wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. COL. GEORGE KRIVO, CPA SPOKESMAN: This was a routine patrol that was going into the area, was lured into a specific area with the carrot of humanitarian assistance and then ambushed, and from our reports, we believe this was a deliberate and planned ambush.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITBECK: Now some Iraqis are saying that is not the case, that U.S. soldiers fired on Iraqis first. The point is there were many angry people at the funeral of one of those Iraqis that died. Thousands of Shiites turned out for this funeral. They were chanting anti-American slogans and chanting slogans of support for a Shiite cleric who has been at odds with the American occupation here before.
Again, there was a CNN cameraman at the site. He said that he saw lots of people waving weapons in the air, but he was not allowed to film those people carrying weapons. So it was a very, very tense situation there in Sadr City this morning -- Carol.
LIN: Harris, any idea who was doing the luring? I mean, any more details? The military seems to be vague about that.
WHITBECK: Not many more details than what I have told you, Carol, but I have told you that some pockets of Sadr City have been considered to be quite dangerous, not only for U.S. soldiers, but also for Western journalists. During the coverage of that explosion at the police station yesterday, U.S. soldiers that showed up there were attacked by people throwing stones at them, and some Western cameramen were also attacked. So it is a very dangerous area. A lot of people in Sadr City might not necessarily support Saddam Hussein, but they certainly don't support the American occupation of Iraq.
LIN: That's pretty obvious. Thank you very much. Harris Whitbeck, reporting live in 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 October 10, 2003 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour in Iraq where two U.S. soldiers have been killed but there's little agreement on what triggered the firefight. Coalition officials say the soldiers were lured into an ambush as they patrolled the Baghdad city, the site of yesterday's bombing after police station. Iraqis say the Americans opened fire first.
Let's get the latest now from the capital can CNN correspondent Harris Whitbeck.
Good morning, Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
As you say, Sadr City was the site of that ambush, in which two soldiers killed, four of them were wounded during the incident, an incident described by a military spokesman here as a routine patrol that suddenly went horribly wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. COL. GEORGE KRIVO, CPA SPOKESMAN: This was a routine patrol that was going into the area, was lured into a specific area with the carrot of humanitarian assistance and then ambushed, and from our reports, we believe this was a deliberate and planned ambush.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITBECK: Now some Iraqis are saying that is not the case, that U.S. soldiers fired on Iraqis first. The point is there were many angry people at the funeral of one of those Iraqis that died. Thousands of Shiites turned out for this funeral. They were chanting anti-American slogans and chanting slogans of support for a Shiite cleric who has been at odds with the American occupation here before.
Again, there was a CNN cameraman at the site. He said that he saw lots of people waving weapons in the air, but he was not allowed to film those people carrying weapons. So it was a very, very tense situation there in Sadr City this morning -- Carol.
LIN: Harris, any idea who was doing the luring? I mean, any more details? The military seems to be vague about that.
WHITBECK: Not many more details than what I have told you, Carol, but I have told you that some pockets of Sadr City have been considered to be quite dangerous, not only for U.S. soldiers, but also for Western journalists. During the coverage of that explosion at the police station yesterday, U.S. soldiers that showed up there were attacked by people throwing stones at them, and some Western cameramen were also attacked. So it is a very dangerous area. A lot of people in Sadr City might not necessarily support Saddam Hussein, but they certainly don't support the American occupation of Iraq.
LIN: That's pretty obvious. Thank you very much. Harris Whitbeck, reporting live in 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
