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CNN Live At Daybreak
In Iraq, Suicide Car Bombers Kill Two Iraqis
Aired February 18, 2004 - 05:30 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: In Iraq, suicide car bombers today killed two Iraqis and injured 44 others, along with eight coalition soldiers, one of them an American.
For details on that and an update on the Iraqi elections, let's head live to Baghdad and Brent Sadler.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Carol.
A new tactic of terror this morning here. It happened about 7:15 a.m. local time. That's when this area of Hilla, about 100 miles south of the capital, Baghdad, was busy, with Iraqi families taking their children to school. It's understood a number of children were injured in this blast.
Two suicide bombers drove up to the outside of the base. This is a base containing multinational forces. It's also where an anti- terror unit is being trained up. The first car, it seemed, tried to get its way through into the base, to clear the way for a second explosion. In the event, there seems to have been just one massive blast and a number of coalition troops injured, including one U.S. soldier, six Poles and a Hungarian. But none of those coalition troops are thought to be in a life threatening situation.
This one of a series of attacks against coalition troops over the past few months. You'll remember back in November, 22 Italians died in a bomb blast and also a month later in Karbala, in the south of Iraq, a further six coalition troops died.
But this time two bombs at the same time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Brent, the violence seems to be increasing there yet again.
How is this all factoring into the debate over holding national elections in Iraq?
SADLER: Well, Carol, we're seeing an increase in strikes, particularly against Iraqi security forces, the Civil Defense Corps, the police and other units. And it really is getting quite crucial to how the electoral process plays out. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the U.S. is open to rethinking the so-called caucus style selection of a new transitional authority to take over Iraq's sovereignty at the beginning of July. And there was a U.N. team in Iraq recently, headed by Lakhdar Brahimi, who gets back to New York, we think, today. He'll be briefing his boss, Kofi Annan, at the United Nations and we expect Mr. Annan to make some sort of statement before the end of this week, although it does seem all around, both in Iraq and elsewhere in capitals, that an election at this time, given this continuing violence, is simply not practical.
But in terms of the final, new government that could take over power from July 1, still nothing definite, nothing concrete about how that might be constituted -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler live from Iraq 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 February 18, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, suicide car bombers today killed two Iraqis and injured 44 others, along with eight coalition soldiers, one of them an American.
For details on that and an update on the Iraqi elections, let's head live to Baghdad and Brent Sadler.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Carol.
A new tactic of terror this morning here. It happened about 7:15 a.m. local time. That's when this area of Hilla, about 100 miles south of the capital, Baghdad, was busy, with Iraqi families taking their children to school. It's understood a number of children were injured in this blast.
Two suicide bombers drove up to the outside of the base. This is a base containing multinational forces. It's also where an anti- terror unit is being trained up. The first car, it seemed, tried to get its way through into the base, to clear the way for a second explosion. In the event, there seems to have been just one massive blast and a number of coalition troops injured, including one U.S. soldier, six Poles and a Hungarian. But none of those coalition troops are thought to be in a life threatening situation.
This one of a series of attacks against coalition troops over the past few months. You'll remember back in November, 22 Italians died in a bomb blast and also a month later in Karbala, in the south of Iraq, a further six coalition troops died.
But this time two bombs at the same time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Brent, the violence seems to be increasing there yet again.
How is this all factoring into the debate over holding national elections in Iraq?
SADLER: Well, Carol, we're seeing an increase in strikes, particularly against Iraqi security forces, the Civil Defense Corps, the police and other units. And it really is getting quite crucial to how the electoral process plays out. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the U.S. is open to rethinking the so-called caucus style selection of a new transitional authority to take over Iraq's sovereignty at the beginning of July. And there was a U.N. team in Iraq recently, headed by Lakhdar Brahimi, who gets back to New York, we think, today. He'll be briefing his boss, Kofi Annan, at the United Nations and we expect Mr. Annan to make some sort of statement before the end of this week, although it does seem all around, both in Iraq and elsewhere in capitals, that an election at this time, given this continuing violence, is simply not practical.
But in terms of the final, new government that could take over power from July 1, still nothing definite, nothing concrete about how that might be constituted -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler live from Iraq 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
