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CNN Live At Daybreak
Casualty Count Climbing in Iraq
Aired October 27, 2003 - 06:29 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The casualty count is climbing in Iraq. At least four explosions have rocked Baghdad, the deadliest one near Red Cross headquarters.
Our Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf is on the scene and joins us now live with the very latest -- hi, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
Well, it's a bloody start to the first day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Now, people around where, where the damage has been quite extensive, have been talking about seeing numerous casualties, horrific scenes. And in a hospital nearby, they tell us that they have treated at least 13 people for wounds, have seen 11 people dead.
Now, at least a couple of those people were staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross. We're looking at their building now. It's been damaged by the blast. And that blast appeared to have been a suicide bomb packed horribly into a vehicle resembling an ambulance, a panel truck with the symbol of the Red Crescent, the Muslim equivalent of the Red Cross.
Now, the bomb would have gone further, according to military officials, but it was stopped by local Iraqi security forces. The building itself, though, virtually unprotected relative to other buildings in Iraq. The International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva-based, has a long history here and it also has a history of neutrality and not affiliating or associating itself with any factions, any armed presence and it has not even had armed guards.
Now, that's led particularly to the shock of their spokeswoman, Nada Doumani, who says that she can't believe that their organization in particular was targeted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADA DOUMANI, RED CROSS SPOKESWOMAN: Maybe it was an illusion to believe that people should know and they ought to know that after 23 years, what's our mandate, what's our identity, how impartial we are, how neutral we are, how not associated with any party we are. And we hope that the Iraqis know it. I don't know who committed this crime today. I don't know who did it. But whoever, I mean, of course for me it's, I can't -- still now I can't understand why we've been targeted, although we've managed throughout the whole years to maintain a humanitarian line, our humanitarian mission with no dis -- without any discrimination concerning the people we're trying to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: And they're still counting the toll, of course, from the other explosions that shortly followed, four separate police stations, four places in Baghdad, three attempted car bombs -- I'm sorry, three successful car bombs and another one attempted.
So far, we know that two American soldiers were killed and certainly there would have been a lot of Iraqis, but that count is still being made -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Jane Arraf, thanks so much for the update.
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 27, 2003 - 06:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The casualty count is climbing in Iraq. At least four explosions have rocked Baghdad, the deadliest one near Red Cross headquarters.
Our Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf is on the scene and joins us now live with the very latest -- hi, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
Well, it's a bloody start to the first day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Now, people around where, where the damage has been quite extensive, have been talking about seeing numerous casualties, horrific scenes. And in a hospital nearby, they tell us that they have treated at least 13 people for wounds, have seen 11 people dead.
Now, at least a couple of those people were staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross. We're looking at their building now. It's been damaged by the blast. And that blast appeared to have been a suicide bomb packed horribly into a vehicle resembling an ambulance, a panel truck with the symbol of the Red Crescent, the Muslim equivalent of the Red Cross.
Now, the bomb would have gone further, according to military officials, but it was stopped by local Iraqi security forces. The building itself, though, virtually unprotected relative to other buildings in Iraq. The International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva-based, has a long history here and it also has a history of neutrality and not affiliating or associating itself with any factions, any armed presence and it has not even had armed guards.
Now, that's led particularly to the shock of their spokeswoman, Nada Doumani, who says that she can't believe that their organization in particular was targeted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADA DOUMANI, RED CROSS SPOKESWOMAN: Maybe it was an illusion to believe that people should know and they ought to know that after 23 years, what's our mandate, what's our identity, how impartial we are, how neutral we are, how not associated with any party we are. And we hope that the Iraqis know it. I don't know who committed this crime today. I don't know who did it. But whoever, I mean, of course for me it's, I can't -- still now I can't understand why we've been targeted, although we've managed throughout the whole years to maintain a humanitarian line, our humanitarian mission with no dis -- without any discrimination concerning the people we're trying to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: And they're still counting the toll, of course, from the other explosions that shortly followed, four separate police stations, four places in Baghdad, three attempted car bombs -- I'm sorry, three successful car bombs and another one attempted.
So far, we know that two American soldiers were killed and certainly there would have been a lot of Iraqis, but that count is still being made -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Jane Arraf, thanks so much for the update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
