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Breaking News

German Police Raid Iraqi Embassy

Aired August 20, 2002 - 13:58   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And now we have had a break in the hostage situation in Germany at the Iraqi embassy.
CNN's Michael Holmes is on the telephone with us right now -- Michael, tell us what happened.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, yes. Police have just approached the huge media gathering here and said that at 19:40 hours, 7:40, that was about 15, 20 minutes ago, police, German special forces police called the SEK stormed the embassy and ended this hostage standoff. They say that no one was hurt, and that the siege is now over. They tell us this siege, of course, started back about six hours ago, about five and a half hours ago, actually, when four or five people stormed into the embassy there, and took a half a dozen staff hostage, including the charge d'affaires at the Iraqi embassy.

They call themselves the Democratic Iraqi Opposition in Germany. The said that they -- in a statement to the media, that they planned a peaceful and temporary process. That has ended a little earlier than they planned. We are told that five people were involved, just getting some new information, Carol. Initially, police said it was four or five people. We are told that five people were involved in all. The situation has now ended -- back to you, Carol.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much. Michael Holmes with that breaking news out of Berlin, Germany. All hostages have been released in that Iraqi embassy standoff there.

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