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CNN Live Sunday
6 Iraqis Killed After Suicide Car Bomb Explodes In Baghdad
Aired October 12, 2003 - 16:01 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.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Suicide car bombers aiming at a Baghdad hotel believed to house U.S. officials, killed six Iraqis instead. A U.S. military official says two cars were racing towards the hotel when guards opened fire. Both cars exploded near the building on a busy commercial avenue. CNN's Jane Arraf joins us now from the Iraqi captial with more details -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Renay, a U.S. official tells us among those six Iraqis dead were two of the Iraqi security guards who opened fire on one of the car bombers, essentially stopping him before he could get to the Baghdad Hotel.
Now the source says that he was equipped with a trigger mechanism that made the bomb detonate as soon as his finger was lifted off of it. It's known as a dead man's trigger.
Now as soon as he was hit by those bullets, the car exploded. And it exploded about 100 yards from its presumed target. The hotel that was packed full of coalition people, state department people, governing council members. Eyewitnesses at the scene who actually saw the attack said it all happened incredibly quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I saw a car coming very fast. It was a small white one. It hit the barrier and one of the guards said, "shoot it." He fired at it and it exploded immediately. It burned the others.
I want to say that it was a cowardly act. What are those terrorists aiming at? What do they want? All the injured are Iraqis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now among the injured were three American troops. One of them suffered a broken arm, the other two received light injuries as well. But it really is clear the majority of casualties, actually all the rest of the casualties, including the dead, were Iraqi. As has been the case over and over in these suicide bombings.
SAN MIGUEL: Jane, tell us more about these Iraqi guards who were able to shoot at the vehicles. These are not the ones being trained by the U.S. but they're privately contracted?
ARRAF: It appears that at least two of them were privately contracted to a U.S. security firm. Now what's been happening here is that companies and organizations as well as government departments have been turning to private security firms, because the Iraqi security forces and the police even are just not up to speed yet. Which is understandable in a country like this.
Now these forces were manning a security gate which consisted of metal spikes in the ground. The kind that goes back and forth. The car apparently rammed this gate, headed towards the Baghdad Hotel, and that's when they opened fire. The blast was close enough to them that they were caught in the blast and killed almost instantly it appears.
SAN MIGUEL: Jane Arraf in Baghdad, thanks for the report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Baghdad>
Aired October 12, 2003 - 16:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Suicide car bombers aiming at a Baghdad hotel believed to house U.S. officials, killed six Iraqis instead. A U.S. military official says two cars were racing towards the hotel when guards opened fire. Both cars exploded near the building on a busy commercial avenue. CNN's Jane Arraf joins us now from the Iraqi captial with more details -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Renay, a U.S. official tells us among those six Iraqis dead were two of the Iraqi security guards who opened fire on one of the car bombers, essentially stopping him before he could get to the Baghdad Hotel.
Now the source says that he was equipped with a trigger mechanism that made the bomb detonate as soon as his finger was lifted off of it. It's known as a dead man's trigger.
Now as soon as he was hit by those bullets, the car exploded. And it exploded about 100 yards from its presumed target. The hotel that was packed full of coalition people, state department people, governing council members. Eyewitnesses at the scene who actually saw the attack said it all happened incredibly quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I saw a car coming very fast. It was a small white one. It hit the barrier and one of the guards said, "shoot it." He fired at it and it exploded immediately. It burned the others.
I want to say that it was a cowardly act. What are those terrorists aiming at? What do they want? All the injured are Iraqis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now among the injured were three American troops. One of them suffered a broken arm, the other two received light injuries as well. But it really is clear the majority of casualties, actually all the rest of the casualties, including the dead, were Iraqi. As has been the case over and over in these suicide bombings.
SAN MIGUEL: Jane, tell us more about these Iraqi guards who were able to shoot at the vehicles. These are not the ones being trained by the U.S. but they're privately contracted?
ARRAF: It appears that at least two of them were privately contracted to a U.S. security firm. Now what's been happening here is that companies and organizations as well as government departments have been turning to private security firms, because the Iraqi security forces and the police even are just not up to speed yet. Which is understandable in a country like this.
Now these forces were manning a security gate which consisted of metal spikes in the ground. The kind that goes back and forth. The car apparently rammed this gate, headed towards the Baghdad Hotel, and that's when they opened fire. The blast was close enough to them that they were caught in the blast and killed almost instantly it appears.
SAN MIGUEL: Jane Arraf in Baghdad, thanks for the report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Baghdad>
