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CNN Live At Daybreak
Raid in Karbala, 21 People Detained
Aired October 21, 2003 - 06:01 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Finally, some arrests, 21 people in U.S. custody in Karbala. The arrests come after a bloody and deadly firefight last week in the holy Shiite city.
Live to Baghdad now and Jane Arraf, our bureau chief there.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Carol, U.S. officials are not saying that these arrests are related in any way to the killing last week, last Friday, of the highest-ranking officer killed since the war. That was Lieutenant Colonel Kim Orlando, 43 years old, the battalion commander killed, along with two other military police.
Now, across town overnight, just before dawn, U.S. forces, backed by Iraqi police, Iraqi Civil Defense, and coalition forces raided a mosque and an office of a young radical cleric.
Now, this is a complicated situation, complicated rivalries here, but this is what is clear: That they have arrested more than 21 people. They are followers and two officials of Muqtada al-Sadr, the cleric who has called for an Islamic state in Iraq, and the U.S. has threatened to arrest him as well.
No connection, according to U.S. officials, to that deadly firefight last Friday, but they have vowed since then to crack down on renegade clerics they say are continuing to cause trouble and gunfights in Karbala, that holy city -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Jane, they've made the arrests. What happens now? Will those 21 people stand trial, or will they just remain in custody for some time?
ARRAF: That's an excellent question. It is very hard to track what happens to people who are detained here. The U.S. says that they are still at war, and these are war situations. We don't get to the see the charged. We don't see people put on trial. It's really unclear what happens to most of them.
Now, human's rights groups have asked for more transparency, and the U.S. says it's getting better in at least accounting for these people. A lot of times, relatives come to us, come to other people and say they've had people detained for months, don't know where they are and don't know what's happened to them. The U.S. says it is trying to counter that -- Carol. COSTELLO: Jane Arraf reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
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 21, 2003 - 06:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Finally, some arrests, 21 people in U.S. custody in Karbala. The arrests come after a bloody and deadly firefight last week in the holy Shiite city.
Live to Baghdad now and Jane Arraf, our bureau chief there.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Carol, U.S. officials are not saying that these arrests are related in any way to the killing last week, last Friday, of the highest-ranking officer killed since the war. That was Lieutenant Colonel Kim Orlando, 43 years old, the battalion commander killed, along with two other military police.
Now, across town overnight, just before dawn, U.S. forces, backed by Iraqi police, Iraqi Civil Defense, and coalition forces raided a mosque and an office of a young radical cleric.
Now, this is a complicated situation, complicated rivalries here, but this is what is clear: That they have arrested more than 21 people. They are followers and two officials of Muqtada al-Sadr, the cleric who has called for an Islamic state in Iraq, and the U.S. has threatened to arrest him as well.
No connection, according to U.S. officials, to that deadly firefight last Friday, but they have vowed since then to crack down on renegade clerics they say are continuing to cause trouble and gunfights in Karbala, that holy city -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, Jane, they've made the arrests. What happens now? Will those 21 people stand trial, or will they just remain in custody for some time?
ARRAF: That's an excellent question. It is very hard to track what happens to people who are detained here. The U.S. says that they are still at war, and these are war situations. We don't get to the see the charged. We don't see people put on trial. It's really unclear what happens to most of them.
Now, human's rights groups have asked for more transparency, and the U.S. says it's getting better in at least accounting for these people. A lot of times, relatives come to us, come to other people and say they've had people detained for months, don't know where they are and don't know what's happened to them. The U.S. says it is trying to counter that -- Carol. COSTELLO: Jane Arraf reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
