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CNN Live Saturday

Iraqis Stage Protest, Blame U.S. for Deadly Explosion in Baghdad

Aired April 26, 2003 - 12:01   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.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with that deadly blast at a Baghdad ammo dump. Hundreds of Iraqis staged an angry protest today, blaming the U.S. for the explosion of that cache of captured weapons, which killed at least six and wounded many more.
Let's go live to CNN's Jim Clancy in the Iraqi capital. Jim, are they still -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there are conflicting reports, we've heard. Have they figured out who is responsible for the explosion?

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have not determined precisely who is responsible, but U.S. military officials very clear saying unknown assailants fired some kind of an incendiary device into what was an acre upon acre block of munitions that were stored. These were munitions that were captured from Iraqi forces or and taken from storerooms all around the city, schools, other locations, apartment buildings.

You see here where a missile came down. It went up in the air, broke apart, came right down in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It dug out a deep crater.

As we understand it, right now both the Red Cross and the U.S. military are saying six civilians are dead. There are conflicting reports about the number of wounded, the Red Cross saying about 50.

In the hospitals, there were a number of people taken in, including three young boys who were brought in much later in the day. Apparently somehow they had gotten around some kind of an explosive device, and they were wounded as well. Unclear if that was directly linked to this explosion at the ammunition dump.

But as you said, residents there very angry, spurred on by Muslim clerics. They took to the streets, they came to the Palestine Hotel, the center of the international media here, venting their rage at the United States. On the scene, people had told us they had warned the U.S. military that the ammunition should not have been stored that close to this civilian area, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Jim Clancy in Baghdad, thanks very much.

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Baghdad>


Aired April 26, 2003 - 12:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with that deadly blast at a Baghdad ammo dump. Hundreds of Iraqis staged an angry protest today, blaming the U.S. for the explosion of that cache of captured weapons, which killed at least six and wounded many more.
Let's go live to CNN's Jim Clancy in the Iraqi capital. Jim, are they still -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there are conflicting reports, we've heard. Have they figured out who is responsible for the explosion?

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have not determined precisely who is responsible, but U.S. military officials very clear saying unknown assailants fired some kind of an incendiary device into what was an acre upon acre block of munitions that were stored. These were munitions that were captured from Iraqi forces or and taken from storerooms all around the city, schools, other locations, apartment buildings.

You see here where a missile came down. It went up in the air, broke apart, came right down in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It dug out a deep crater.

As we understand it, right now both the Red Cross and the U.S. military are saying six civilians are dead. There are conflicting reports about the number of wounded, the Red Cross saying about 50.

In the hospitals, there were a number of people taken in, including three young boys who were brought in much later in the day. Apparently somehow they had gotten around some kind of an explosive device, and they were wounded as well. Unclear if that was directly linked to this explosion at the ammunition dump.

But as you said, residents there very angry, spurred on by Muslim clerics. They took to the streets, they came to the Palestine Hotel, the center of the international media here, venting their rage at the United States. On the scene, people had told us they had warned the U.S. military that the ammunition should not have been stored that close to this civilian area, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Jim Clancy in Baghdad, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Baghdad>