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CNN Live Today
Attacks in Iraq
Aired November 21, 2003 - 11:06 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: Bold attacks on three high-profile targets in Iraq today. In a new tactic, insurgents fired around a dozen rockets from donkey carts.
CNN's Matthew Chance joining us now live from Baghdad to show us the damage there.
Matthew, hello.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, thank you.
You join me on the 15th floor of the Palestine Hotel, where we're all based here in Baghdad, as well as a lot of other international media organization, in one of the rooms that was actually hit by one of the rockets that were fired at this building and others in the center of the Iraqi capital this morning.
Take a look at the devastation caused just in this room. Fortunately, there was nobody actually sleeping in it at that time. But you can see the rocket actually penetrated through the thick concrete walls of this hotel. The gap over there to the left of the screen, that was a window. It's been completely blown away. Obviously, a lot of debris inside here. A very lucky escape for people in the hotel. We understand there was just one injury here in the Palestine.
Two other buildings, high-profile buildings in the Iraqi capital attacked in this way as well. The Sheridan Hotel, just a short distance from here, just across the road, in fact, also an area where what's left of the international community in this city stays. As well as the Iraqi oil ministry, all targeted in the same way, with attacks carried out by multiple rocket launchers that were assembled on to donkey carts, carts pulled by donkeys, to sort of disguise them for what they are, so they could be easily put into place.
Well, U.S. and coalition officials have said that they have been preparing for these kinds of high-profile strikes in this, the holy month of Ramadan.
Brigadier Mark Kimmitt is a coalition U.S. military spokesman here in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, DEP. CHIEF OF OPERATIONS: These are spectacular attacks. Clearly, the enemy's been taking a look at our operations and realize that we are clamping down. They realize they can't attack us and defeat us in a conventional sense. What they're trying to do is break our will, capture the headlines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, as U.S. forces have said, they've been increasing their patrols, and in fact, these latest attacks come after 12 days of Operation Iron Hammer, which as you may remember, is the U.S. military's attempt to crackdown on these insurgents, to deprive them of the kind of infrastructure that they've been using and areas they've been using to carry out these kinds of attacks, which have been coming on various coalition targets on sort of a daily basis. What this series of attacks clearly offer some answer to is the fact that these militants are still able to plan, to organize and carry out these attacks in the heart of the Iraqi capital -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Matthew Chance, thank you very much for the update. Appreciate it, live from 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 - 11:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Bold attacks on three high-profile targets in Iraq today. In a new tactic, insurgents fired around a dozen rockets from donkey carts.
CNN's Matthew Chance joining us now live from Baghdad to show us the damage there.
Matthew, hello.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, thank you.
You join me on the 15th floor of the Palestine Hotel, where we're all based here in Baghdad, as well as a lot of other international media organization, in one of the rooms that was actually hit by one of the rockets that were fired at this building and others in the center of the Iraqi capital this morning.
Take a look at the devastation caused just in this room. Fortunately, there was nobody actually sleeping in it at that time. But you can see the rocket actually penetrated through the thick concrete walls of this hotel. The gap over there to the left of the screen, that was a window. It's been completely blown away. Obviously, a lot of debris inside here. A very lucky escape for people in the hotel. We understand there was just one injury here in the Palestine.
Two other buildings, high-profile buildings in the Iraqi capital attacked in this way as well. The Sheridan Hotel, just a short distance from here, just across the road, in fact, also an area where what's left of the international community in this city stays. As well as the Iraqi oil ministry, all targeted in the same way, with attacks carried out by multiple rocket launchers that were assembled on to donkey carts, carts pulled by donkeys, to sort of disguise them for what they are, so they could be easily put into place.
Well, U.S. and coalition officials have said that they have been preparing for these kinds of high-profile strikes in this, the holy month of Ramadan.
Brigadier Mark Kimmitt is a coalition U.S. military spokesman here in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, DEP. CHIEF OF OPERATIONS: These are spectacular attacks. Clearly, the enemy's been taking a look at our operations and realize that we are clamping down. They realize they can't attack us and defeat us in a conventional sense. What they're trying to do is break our will, capture the headlines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, as U.S. forces have said, they've been increasing their patrols, and in fact, these latest attacks come after 12 days of Operation Iron Hammer, which as you may remember, is the U.S. military's attempt to crackdown on these insurgents, to deprive them of the kind of infrastructure that they've been using and areas they've been using to carry out these kinds of attacks, which have been coming on various coalition targets on sort of a daily basis. What this series of attacks clearly offer some answer to is the fact that these militants are still able to plan, to organize and carry out these attacks in the heart of the Iraqi capital -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Matthew Chance, thank you very much for the update. Appreciate it, live from 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
