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CNN Live Sunday
U.S. Forces in Iraq Step Up Efforts to Round Up Insurgents
Aired December 21, 2003 - 11:04 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.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: We now get the latest news from Iraq. U.S. forces are casting a massive net across parts of the country in an effort to round up suspected insurgents. And new attacks targeted gas pipe pipelines near Baghdad.
We are now going to go live to Baghdad and CNN's Rym Brahimi with the latest. What's the situation now with the ongoing fire just south of the capital city?
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand that there was a huge fire just outside of Baghdad. It was actually a fire at a storage facility for fuel, some 350 fuel barrels totally caught fire there. It's not clear for the time being why that facility caught fire, but an Oil Ministry spokesman told us that there were also two other attacks, one north of Baghdad at an area where there was an explosion that hit a supply line of oil, and south of Baghdad there was a rocket-propelled grenade attack that hit another supply line causing the loss of 10 million liters of gasoline or 2.6 million gallons, if you will, of gasoline just at a moment when there are massive fuel shortages in and around the capital.
You're mentioning, Sean, that these series of raids that the U.S. coalition forces have been launching in the past 24 hours, three areas mainly, all of them in the west. At a province, we're told, more than 200 patrols conducted by the task force, all American, some of them were joint patrols with Iraqi border guards and Iraqi police. In that area one Iraqi person was killed, three were wounded, but they say they managed to capture 100 terrorists.
Coalition officials also say in Fallujah paratroopers captured 14 insurgents and confiscated several weapons. And a new operation under way in Ralah, which is on the road to Syria, toward the west as well, "Operation Rifles Fury." That consists of a series of raids that coalition officials say is to capture or kill anti-coalition forces. They say they're also trying to destroy terrorist camps in that area. Sean?
CALLEBS: OK, Rym Brahimi in Baghdad. Thanks very much, Rym.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Insurgents>
Aired December 21, 2003 - 11:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: We now get the latest news from Iraq. U.S. forces are casting a massive net across parts of the country in an effort to round up suspected insurgents. And new attacks targeted gas pipe pipelines near Baghdad.
We are now going to go live to Baghdad and CNN's Rym Brahimi with the latest. What's the situation now with the ongoing fire just south of the capital city?
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand that there was a huge fire just outside of Baghdad. It was actually a fire at a storage facility for fuel, some 350 fuel barrels totally caught fire there. It's not clear for the time being why that facility caught fire, but an Oil Ministry spokesman told us that there were also two other attacks, one north of Baghdad at an area where there was an explosion that hit a supply line of oil, and south of Baghdad there was a rocket-propelled grenade attack that hit another supply line causing the loss of 10 million liters of gasoline or 2.6 million gallons, if you will, of gasoline just at a moment when there are massive fuel shortages in and around the capital.
You're mentioning, Sean, that these series of raids that the U.S. coalition forces have been launching in the past 24 hours, three areas mainly, all of them in the west. At a province, we're told, more than 200 patrols conducted by the task force, all American, some of them were joint patrols with Iraqi border guards and Iraqi police. In that area one Iraqi person was killed, three were wounded, but they say they managed to capture 100 terrorists.
Coalition officials also say in Fallujah paratroopers captured 14 insurgents and confiscated several weapons. And a new operation under way in Ralah, which is on the road to Syria, toward the west as well, "Operation Rifles Fury." That consists of a series of raids that coalition officials say is to capture or kill anti-coalition forces. They say they're also trying to destroy terrorist camps in that area. Sean?
CALLEBS: OK, Rym Brahimi in Baghdad. Thanks very much, Rym.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Insurgents>
