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CNN Live At Daybreak
Palestine, Sheraton Hotels in Baghdad Hit With Rockets
Aired November 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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Explosions overnight rock two heavily- guarded hotels in central Baghdad, as well as Iraqs Oil Ministry.
Our Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf, was inside one of the hotels, and she joins us once again live this morning.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Just after 7:00 this morning, rockets slammed into this hotel, the adjoining hotel and the Oil Ministry. Now, this was a new technique, rockets like this, and these are Russian-made Iraqi military rockets, carried on donkey carts.
With us to talk about this, we have the deputy minister of interior and police chief, General Ahmad Ibrahim.
General Ibrahim, thank you very much.
Youre welcome.
ARRAF: Can you tell us what happened today? What happened this morning?
AHMAD IBRAHIM, DEPUTY INTERIOR MINISTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they have the bomb and mortar with the carriage, and the carriage pulled by the donkey and they stop it and they shoot with automatic. They shoot for the Ministry of Oil, and no injured, no anyone dead, only the fire in one of the room. And we control directly (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) also we catch the carriage with the donkey, and they have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) bomb in this, and weve had also (UNINTELLIGIBLE) only for that (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and that not for any people. That for the press, and that big mistake for them, because all the place now (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because they know for although what happened in Iraq, when the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and Saddam (UNINTELLIGIBLE) anyone (UNINTELLIGIBLE) their freedom. They are (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The Iraqi people are happy. The stores are open. The children and the women go on the streets and buy everything they need, and although for the schools and for the colleges, everything is beautiful. They want now take that.
ARRAF: General, who do you think is doing these attacks? Are these Iraqis behind the attacks?
IBRAHIM: I dont think who do that, because anyone who do that they must be a criminal. Theyre out of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He wont take the freedom from the Iraqi people. And now, we talk with the Iraqi people, and the Iraqi people soon they follow them. They follow them, and they bring them to the police, because Iraqis, theyre smart, and they know that big mistake to do that. And if anyone -- sometimes they kill their children or kill the women.
ARRAF: But how can you fight these attacks? Because theyre happening so often.
IBRAHIM: We can fight them. We can fight, we can control, and we have a new plan soon, and youll see we change it. We change it soon, because you want Iraqi people happy. I dont love I put many checkpoints on the streets. I dont like that. I want all of the pieces for all Iraq (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they push me to do that. They push many checkpoints, to check at any car. And thats wrong. But we do that to follow the criminal, and we catch them soon.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
IBRAHAIM: Thank you very much.
ARRAF: That was General Ahmad Ibrahim, who is police chief here in Baghdad and deputy interior minister, talking to us from this devastated hotel room, where two rockets slammed into it this early- morning attack on these two hotels and the Oil Ministry -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much -- Jane Arraf live 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.
Aired November 21, 2003 - 06:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Explosions overnight rock two heavily- guarded hotels in central Baghdad, as well as Iraqs Oil Ministry.
Our Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf, was inside one of the hotels, and she joins us once again live this morning.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Just after 7:00 this morning, rockets slammed into this hotel, the adjoining hotel and the Oil Ministry. Now, this was a new technique, rockets like this, and these are Russian-made Iraqi military rockets, carried on donkey carts.
With us to talk about this, we have the deputy minister of interior and police chief, General Ahmad Ibrahim.
General Ibrahim, thank you very much.
Youre welcome.
ARRAF: Can you tell us what happened today? What happened this morning?
AHMAD IBRAHIM, DEPUTY INTERIOR MINISTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they have the bomb and mortar with the carriage, and the carriage pulled by the donkey and they stop it and they shoot with automatic. They shoot for the Ministry of Oil, and no injured, no anyone dead, only the fire in one of the room. And we control directly (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) also we catch the carriage with the donkey, and they have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) bomb in this, and weve had also (UNINTELLIGIBLE) only for that (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and that not for any people. That for the press, and that big mistake for them, because all the place now (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because they know for although what happened in Iraq, when the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and Saddam (UNINTELLIGIBLE) anyone (UNINTELLIGIBLE) their freedom. They are (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The Iraqi people are happy. The stores are open. The children and the women go on the streets and buy everything they need, and although for the schools and for the colleges, everything is beautiful. They want now take that.
ARRAF: General, who do you think is doing these attacks? Are these Iraqis behind the attacks?
IBRAHIM: I dont think who do that, because anyone who do that they must be a criminal. Theyre out of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He wont take the freedom from the Iraqi people. And now, we talk with the Iraqi people, and the Iraqi people soon they follow them. They follow them, and they bring them to the police, because Iraqis, theyre smart, and they know that big mistake to do that. And if anyone -- sometimes they kill their children or kill the women.
ARRAF: But how can you fight these attacks? Because theyre happening so often.
IBRAHIM: We can fight them. We can fight, we can control, and we have a new plan soon, and youll see we change it. We change it soon, because you want Iraqi people happy. I dont love I put many checkpoints on the streets. I dont like that. I want all of the pieces for all Iraq (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they push me to do that. They push many checkpoints, to check at any car. And thats wrong. But we do that to follow the criminal, and we catch them soon.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
IBRAHAIM: Thank you very much.
ARRAF: That was General Ahmad Ibrahim, who is police chief here in Baghdad and deputy interior minister, talking to us from this devastated hotel room, where two rockets slammed into it this early- morning attack on these two hotels and the Oil Ministry -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much -- Jane Arraf live 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.
