Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Iraqi Insurgents Storm Police Station, Free Prisoners
Aired February 14, 2004 - 09:01 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Residents of the volatile Iraqi city of Fallujah were awakened this morning by gunfire. A group of men authorities called well organized stormed a police station and set prisoners free. Seventeen police officers and four attackers were killed. Ten suspects are now in custody.
Some of this sound and fury was captured on video, and CNN's Gaven Morris in Baghdad has the pictures and the story. Gaven, good afternoon to you there.
GAVEN MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Heidi.
This was a very brazen attack on the central part of Fallujah. about 50 attackers stormed the central police station there after firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns on that building. Once inside, they sought out the policemen there and then freed dozens of prisoners that then ran out onto the streets and joined the melee out there.
A gun battle carried on for more than an hour as Iraqi security personnel tried to wrest back control of this very volatile town.
Now, we understand at the moment that more than 20 people were killed in the attack. Many more injured. The hospitals have been dealing with casualties all day.
And they, they're getting used to this in Fallujah. This is a town used to attacks, but perhaps nothing quite as organized, nothing quite as planned as what they saw today, such a large number of attackers all involved in the one raid. And as the day went on, the people are still -- the authorities there are still investigating exactly who was behind it.
In this raid this morning, no sign of U.S. forces. They do have a presence in Fallujah, but they weren't present on the streets. They did not come to assist the Iraqi personnel. And Heidi, that is raising some questions about whether more can be done as these attacks on Iraqi police, attacks on Iraqi civil defense forces intensify towards the handover of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, Heidi.
COLLINS: And Gaven, that brings up the question, we are getting some reports back here that there were a couple of U.S. military Humvees that went to the area but actually got out of there pretty quickly. Is this possibly part of the new directive for the U.S. military, to stay out of these Iraqi-on-Iraqi attacks, if you will? MORRIS: There's no doubt -- yes, Heidi, there's no doubt that the coalition is very keen on Iraqis taking control of their own security, and they've put in place this new police force, this new Iraqi civil defense force to take care of their own security.
But the strategy of whoever is undertaking the array of attacks that we've seen in recent weeks is to very much target these new institutions in the lead-up to sovereignty, I think to make people there feel a little unsafe.
So local people you go to at these events in the aftermath are all saying, Look, in the meantime, until these forces are up and running properly, until they're well trained and have the numbers on the ground, we really do need that U.S. help.
But the U.S. is continuing in its strategy, the coalition forces continuing its strategy to pull back to a certain number of bases in the cities and towns around Iraq and handing over the security to these new security forces, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Gaven Morris live from Baghdad this morning. Gaven, thanks a lot.
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 February 14, 2004 - 09:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Residents of the volatile Iraqi city of Fallujah were awakened this morning by gunfire. A group of men authorities called well organized stormed a police station and set prisoners free. Seventeen police officers and four attackers were killed. Ten suspects are now in custody.
Some of this sound and fury was captured on video, and CNN's Gaven Morris in Baghdad has the pictures and the story. Gaven, good afternoon to you there.
GAVEN MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Heidi.
This was a very brazen attack on the central part of Fallujah. about 50 attackers stormed the central police station there after firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns on that building. Once inside, they sought out the policemen there and then freed dozens of prisoners that then ran out onto the streets and joined the melee out there.
A gun battle carried on for more than an hour as Iraqi security personnel tried to wrest back control of this very volatile town.
Now, we understand at the moment that more than 20 people were killed in the attack. Many more injured. The hospitals have been dealing with casualties all day.
And they, they're getting used to this in Fallujah. This is a town used to attacks, but perhaps nothing quite as organized, nothing quite as planned as what they saw today, such a large number of attackers all involved in the one raid. And as the day went on, the people are still -- the authorities there are still investigating exactly who was behind it.
In this raid this morning, no sign of U.S. forces. They do have a presence in Fallujah, but they weren't present on the streets. They did not come to assist the Iraqi personnel. And Heidi, that is raising some questions about whether more can be done as these attacks on Iraqi police, attacks on Iraqi civil defense forces intensify towards the handover of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, Heidi.
COLLINS: And Gaven, that brings up the question, we are getting some reports back here that there were a couple of U.S. military Humvees that went to the area but actually got out of there pretty quickly. Is this possibly part of the new directive for the U.S. military, to stay out of these Iraqi-on-Iraqi attacks, if you will? MORRIS: There's no doubt -- yes, Heidi, there's no doubt that the coalition is very keen on Iraqis taking control of their own security, and they've put in place this new police force, this new Iraqi civil defense force to take care of their own security.
But the strategy of whoever is undertaking the array of attacks that we've seen in recent weeks is to very much target these new institutions in the lead-up to sovereignty, I think to make people there feel a little unsafe.
So local people you go to at these events in the aftermath are all saying, Look, in the meantime, until these forces are up and running properly, until they're well trained and have the numbers on the ground, we really do need that U.S. help.
But the U.S. is continuing in its strategy, the coalition forces continuing its strategy to pull back to a certain number of bases in the cities and towns around Iraq and handing over the security to these new security forces, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Gaven Morris live from Baghdad this morning. Gaven, thanks a lot.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
