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Embassy Bombing

Aired October 14, 2003 - 10:01   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR": We are following, though, a developing story that is coming out of Baghdad. That is where yet another suicide car bomber has struck. This time outside the Turkish embassy. There are conflicting reports, but apparently no more than two deaths and eight others wounded. An officials say security measures once again prevented a greater death toll.
Our Harris Whitbeck is actually at the scene and he joins us now with the latest.

Hello.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

U.S. soldiers have cordoned off the area immediately in front of the Turkish embassy in Baghdad. As you were saying, it is believed this could have been much worse but walls that had been erected in front of the building apparently absorbed 90 percent of the impact of that car bomb. Again, eyewitnesses say one person drove what looked like a Chevrolet sedan very close to the embassy and blew it up.

From reports on the ground, two people were killed, including the suicide bomber, and there were eight wounded. Now, the coalition official version is that only one person died, but people here on the ground are insisting they saw two people die during that blast. Among the wounded, some embassy staffers but, again, no major damage to the Turkish embassy in Baghdad, precisely because of these blast walls that we've been seeing mushroom around the Baghdad capital in the -- Iraqi capital, sorry, in the last several days -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Can you tell us a little bit more about the blast walls, Harris?

WHITBECK: Well, they are normally made of concrete, large sometimes six, seven feet tall, concrete walls that are physically placed with a large crane in front of buildings. Sometimes they are made out of a very, very heavy steel mesh that has an inside these cages, if you will, a lot of dirt, packed dirt, and pieces of concrete are put in there. Those are designed specifically to absorb the blast from explosions.

In this case, they worked. In the case of suicide bombing at the Baghdad Hotel last Sunday, they weren't as effective, because in that case, the suicide bomber was able to actually get between the building and the blast walls. Now he was stopped by members of the facility's protection service, an Iraqi police service who actually fired upon that suicide bomber before he could get too close to the Baghdad Hotel. In this case, the bomber apparently got closer to the building, but it was the blast walls that absorbed the greater impact from that explosion -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Harris, you take care and be careful there in Baghdad.

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Aired October 14, 2003 - 10:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR": We are following, though, a developing story that is coming out of Baghdad. That is where yet another suicide car bomber has struck. This time outside the Turkish embassy. There are conflicting reports, but apparently no more than two deaths and eight others wounded. An officials say security measures once again prevented a greater death toll.
Our Harris Whitbeck is actually at the scene and he joins us now with the latest.

Hello.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

U.S. soldiers have cordoned off the area immediately in front of the Turkish embassy in Baghdad. As you were saying, it is believed this could have been much worse but walls that had been erected in front of the building apparently absorbed 90 percent of the impact of that car bomb. Again, eyewitnesses say one person drove what looked like a Chevrolet sedan very close to the embassy and blew it up.

From reports on the ground, two people were killed, including the suicide bomber, and there were eight wounded. Now, the coalition official version is that only one person died, but people here on the ground are insisting they saw two people die during that blast. Among the wounded, some embassy staffers but, again, no major damage to the Turkish embassy in Baghdad, precisely because of these blast walls that we've been seeing mushroom around the Baghdad capital in the -- Iraqi capital, sorry, in the last several days -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Can you tell us a little bit more about the blast walls, Harris?

WHITBECK: Well, they are normally made of concrete, large sometimes six, seven feet tall, concrete walls that are physically placed with a large crane in front of buildings. Sometimes they are made out of a very, very heavy steel mesh that has an inside these cages, if you will, a lot of dirt, packed dirt, and pieces of concrete are put in there. Those are designed specifically to absorb the blast from explosions.

In this case, they worked. In the case of suicide bombing at the Baghdad Hotel last Sunday, they weren't as effective, because in that case, the suicide bomber was able to actually get between the building and the blast walls. Now he was stopped by members of the facility's protection service, an Iraqi police service who actually fired upon that suicide bomber before he could get too close to the Baghdad Hotel. In this case, the bomber apparently got closer to the building, but it was the blast walls that absorbed the greater impact from that explosion -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Harris, you take care and be careful there 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