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Terrorist Attack on Police Headquarters in Nasiriyah Kills 12
Aired November 12, 2003 - 06:01 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It has been a rough morning in Iraq. An American soldier has been killed, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council comes under fire and an Italian police headquarters is blown apart.
Live to Baghdad now and Ben Wedeman.
And, Ben, I know it's been tough getting information out of Nasiriyah. Can you give us an update, though?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Yes. Well, at this point, Carol, it looks like the death toll may climb as high as 20 from that mid-morning blast outside the police headquarters of the Italian Carbinieri, or paramilitary police, there.
Now, we have confirmation that 12 Italian soldiers and policemen were killed in this blast, but we're also getting reports from Nasiriyah that a fair number of Iraqis were killed as well.
Now, according to reports from Nasiriyah, it looks like a truck slammed into the front gate of the Italian base down there, causing a massive blast, causing some of the buildings to collapse. We're hearing from a spokesman in Rome that there may still be Italian personnel trapped inside the rubble of one of those buildings.
Now, these are the first combat fatalities for the Italians in Iraq. They're stationed in a fairly quiet area, certainly compared to the rest of the country. But we will bring you more details as they come in.
Here in Baghdad, another U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb to the northwest of the city. At this point, the coalition death toll for the first 12 days of November looks like it may top 50, the highest death toll for such a period since the end of the war in April.
Now, meanwhile in Tikrit in the center of the country, the 4th Infantry Division carried out an eight-hour-long raid. They're looking for people involved in attacks on coalition forces. They report that they arrested 36 people possibly involved in those attacks, including one individual, they say or they believe, may have been involved in that attack on a Black Hawk helicopter last Friday that left six U.S. service personnel dead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live from Baghdad 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.
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Aired November 12, 2003 - 06:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It has been a rough morning in Iraq. An American soldier has been killed, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council comes under fire and an Italian police headquarters is blown apart.
Live to Baghdad now and Ben Wedeman.
And, Ben, I know it's been tough getting information out of Nasiriyah. Can you give us an update, though?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Yes. Well, at this point, Carol, it looks like the death toll may climb as high as 20 from that mid-morning blast outside the police headquarters of the Italian Carbinieri, or paramilitary police, there.
Now, we have confirmation that 12 Italian soldiers and policemen were killed in this blast, but we're also getting reports from Nasiriyah that a fair number of Iraqis were killed as well.
Now, according to reports from Nasiriyah, it looks like a truck slammed into the front gate of the Italian base down there, causing a massive blast, causing some of the buildings to collapse. We're hearing from a spokesman in Rome that there may still be Italian personnel trapped inside the rubble of one of those buildings.
Now, these are the first combat fatalities for the Italians in Iraq. They're stationed in a fairly quiet area, certainly compared to the rest of the country. But we will bring you more details as they come in.
Here in Baghdad, another U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb to the northwest of the city. At this point, the coalition death toll for the first 12 days of November looks like it may top 50, the highest death toll for such a period since the end of the war in April.
Now, meanwhile in Tikrit in the center of the country, the 4th Infantry Division carried out an eight-hour-long raid. They're looking for people involved in attacks on coalition forces. They report that they arrested 36 people possibly involved in those attacks, including one individual, they say or they believe, may have been involved in that attack on a Black Hawk helicopter last Friday that left six U.S. service personnel dead -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live from Baghdad 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.
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