Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Death of American Military Police Officer in Iraq
Aired November 10, 2003 - 05:03 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: To the latest now, the death of an American military police officer in Iraq. It happened 40 miles south of Baghdad.
For details, we take you live there and Matthew Chance -- Matthew, what happened?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Carol.
And every day there are new attacks against U.S. and coalition forces on patrol in various areas of the this country. The latest incident took place about 40 miles, 60 kilometers to the south of the Iraqi capital, in the town or near the town of Iskandariyah, where we know from coalition officials that at least one U.S. soldier has been killed in what they describe as a rocket propelled grenade attack. The individual concerned is said to have belonged to the U.S. 18th Military Police Brigade.
That as U.S. military sources suggest that, or confirm to us off the record, that the helicopter, the Black Hawk helicopter that was downed on Friday or that came down on Friday just outside the town of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, killing all six U.S. personnel on board, that was actually brought down by a surface to air missile. So this a new threat being posed by the insurgents against the U.S. and the coalition forces -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I also understand there's a new development in the Al- Rasheed Hotel bombing. Can you tell us more about that this morning?
CHANCE: Well, indeed. There's been an intensive investigation under way and operations to try and crack down on the insurgents carrying out these various attacks. There's been some success reported in regard to the attack earlier this month on the Al-Rasheed Hotel, one of the main headquarters or one of the main buildings that the coalition authorities use as their headquarters.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was actually in the hotel when it was attacked by several rockets. Coalition officials now say they have arrested 12 of the 18 people that they believe were involved in that attack. So some progress there on that front, on the investigations.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, Matthew, we're all wondering who those people are, where they're from. Do we know?
CHANCE: Well, they haven't given us their names, but theyve said that they were people associated with the financing of this attack, the planning of this attack and, indeed, the actual individuals, as well, who carried it out.
But there's been no other further details as to who they are, except to say that they were members, or, rather, they are sympathizers with the former regime of Saddam Hussein. What the coalition is calling them now is former regime power brokers, people who enjoyed power under the Saddam years and are now trying to fight for some of that power back.
COSTELLO: But they didn't come from outside of Iraq?
CHANCE: No. The coalition says that there are a great number of foreign fighters, they call them, that have infiltrated the very porous borders of Iraq to come into this country and to use Iraq as a battlefield to target U.S. forces. But on this occasion, the attack against the Al-Rasheed Hotel, what we're hearing from the coalition is that they believe these individuals were of the sort of elements of people who belonged to that regime. They're Iraqis. They're people who are sort of dead-enders, people who are trying to regain some of the power they enjoyed under the Saddam years.
COSTELLO: Matthew Chance 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 November 10, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: To the latest now, the death of an American military police officer in Iraq. It happened 40 miles south of Baghdad.
For details, we take you live there and Matthew Chance -- Matthew, what happened?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Carol.
And every day there are new attacks against U.S. and coalition forces on patrol in various areas of the this country. The latest incident took place about 40 miles, 60 kilometers to the south of the Iraqi capital, in the town or near the town of Iskandariyah, where we know from coalition officials that at least one U.S. soldier has been killed in what they describe as a rocket propelled grenade attack. The individual concerned is said to have belonged to the U.S. 18th Military Police Brigade.
That as U.S. military sources suggest that, or confirm to us off the record, that the helicopter, the Black Hawk helicopter that was downed on Friday or that came down on Friday just outside the town of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, killing all six U.S. personnel on board, that was actually brought down by a surface to air missile. So this a new threat being posed by the insurgents against the U.S. and the coalition forces -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I also understand there's a new development in the Al- Rasheed Hotel bombing. Can you tell us more about that this morning?
CHANCE: Well, indeed. There's been an intensive investigation under way and operations to try and crack down on the insurgents carrying out these various attacks. There's been some success reported in regard to the attack earlier this month on the Al-Rasheed Hotel, one of the main headquarters or one of the main buildings that the coalition authorities use as their headquarters.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was actually in the hotel when it was attacked by several rockets. Coalition officials now say they have arrested 12 of the 18 people that they believe were involved in that attack. So some progress there on that front, on the investigations.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, Matthew, we're all wondering who those people are, where they're from. Do we know?
CHANCE: Well, they haven't given us their names, but theyve said that they were people associated with the financing of this attack, the planning of this attack and, indeed, the actual individuals, as well, who carried it out.
But there's been no other further details as to who they are, except to say that they were members, or, rather, they are sympathizers with the former regime of Saddam Hussein. What the coalition is calling them now is former regime power brokers, people who enjoyed power under the Saddam years and are now trying to fight for some of that power back.
COSTELLO: But they didn't come from outside of Iraq?
CHANCE: No. The coalition says that there are a great number of foreign fighters, they call them, that have infiltrated the very porous borders of Iraq to come into this country and to use Iraq as a battlefield to target U.S. forces. But on this occasion, the attack against the Al-Rasheed Hotel, what we're hearing from the coalition is that they believe these individuals were of the sort of elements of people who belonged to that regime. They're Iraqis. They're people who are sort of dead-enders, people who are trying to regain some of the power they enjoyed under the Saddam years.
COSTELLO: Matthew Chance 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
