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Offials Say 2 Cars Opened Fire On Vehicles Carrying Spanish Agents

Aired November 29, 2003 - 14:02   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.


KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, though, we begin in Iraq. More violence, the latest on that ambush of Spanish intelligence agents. For the latest, we go to CNN's Walter Rodgers who is in Baghdad now. Walt, what's the latest information you have?
WALTER RODGERS, BAGHDAD: Hello Kelly, this war has been particularly hard on the Spanish and their intelligence units here. In October, a ranking Spanish intelligence officer was assassinated at his front door. Tonight an ambush, two vehicles traveling from al Hillah (ph) south of Baghdad towards the Iraqi Capital.

They were 30 miles south of the city. It was dusk. Suddenly, cars overtook them and began pouring fire into the Spanish vehicles. They were carrying Spanish intelligence agents. The latest information we have is seven Spaniards dead, one wounded.

Afterwards, there was video of the Iraqis who gathered around the dead and dying Spanish intelligence agents, kicking the bodies, dancing up and down, much like the fate experienced by the U.S. soldiers in Mosul just the previous week. It was not a pretty picture.

Still, one of the ranking U.S. Generals here, Ricardo Sanchez, held a news conference a little while before that ambush and said that the tide is turning. He used new statistics to bolster the argument that the U.S. side is actually gaining ground here. He said attacks on U.S. forces in Baghdad itself were down 70 percent the last week.

General Sanchez also said that overall attacks in Iraq were down 30 percent over the past two weeks, although he did say that attacks on Iraqis are significantly up.

Now, having said all of that, General Sanchez did appear to pull out one of the props between, behind -- propping up President Bush's rationale for this war. You recall, the president said that this was a site of terrorism. Well, General Sanchez said that if that's so, they can't find al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. RICHARDO SANCHEZ, COALITION GROUND CMDR: At this point, we still have not conclusively established an al Qaeda operative here in the country. We firmly believe that there are links, both financial and training and ideological links that are present, but we still haven't made that final connection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: Having said that, we just received an eyewitness account from Regiv Chandrasekaran of the "The Washington Post." He saw the Spanish convoy as it was being ambushed.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

REGIV CHANDRASEKARAN, "WASHINGTON POST": It's not clear there was any chase. What was described was that they were followed, and that the occupant's at least one car opened fire on the two Spanish vehicles, forcing one off the road. And I could see that one vehicle that had gone off the road into a large, muddy patch, and was on fire.

At that point, we were told that both the fighters in the vehicle as well as other fighters who had been laying in wait in this area, opened fire on those two vehicles. There was a heavy exchange of fire back and forth.

Both vehicles subsequently were engulfed in flames. It appears that at least the occupants of one of the vehicles were able to get out, and -- but three of those occupants were killed, and then it appears that four occupants in the other vehicle that was run off the road were killed in their vehicle.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

RODGERS: Again, the death toll in that ambush of the Spanish intelligence unit, seven dead, one wounded, and Iraqi civilians were seen kicking the dead bodies and dancing jubilantly afterwards -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Walt, thank you very much. Walt Rodgers with the latest on the situation in Iraq. We'll be checking in with you throughout the day.

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




Spanish Agents>


Aired November 29, 2003 - 14:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, though, we begin in Iraq. More violence, the latest on that ambush of Spanish intelligence agents. For the latest, we go to CNN's Walter Rodgers who is in Baghdad now. Walt, what's the latest information you have?
WALTER RODGERS, BAGHDAD: Hello Kelly, this war has been particularly hard on the Spanish and their intelligence units here. In October, a ranking Spanish intelligence officer was assassinated at his front door. Tonight an ambush, two vehicles traveling from al Hillah (ph) south of Baghdad towards the Iraqi Capital.

They were 30 miles south of the city. It was dusk. Suddenly, cars overtook them and began pouring fire into the Spanish vehicles. They were carrying Spanish intelligence agents. The latest information we have is seven Spaniards dead, one wounded.

Afterwards, there was video of the Iraqis who gathered around the dead and dying Spanish intelligence agents, kicking the bodies, dancing up and down, much like the fate experienced by the U.S. soldiers in Mosul just the previous week. It was not a pretty picture.

Still, one of the ranking U.S. Generals here, Ricardo Sanchez, held a news conference a little while before that ambush and said that the tide is turning. He used new statistics to bolster the argument that the U.S. side is actually gaining ground here. He said attacks on U.S. forces in Baghdad itself were down 70 percent the last week.

General Sanchez also said that overall attacks in Iraq were down 30 percent over the past two weeks, although he did say that attacks on Iraqis are significantly up.

Now, having said all of that, General Sanchez did appear to pull out one of the props between, behind -- propping up President Bush's rationale for this war. You recall, the president said that this was a site of terrorism. Well, General Sanchez said that if that's so, they can't find al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. RICHARDO SANCHEZ, COALITION GROUND CMDR: At this point, we still have not conclusively established an al Qaeda operative here in the country. We firmly believe that there are links, both financial and training and ideological links that are present, but we still haven't made that final connection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: Having said that, we just received an eyewitness account from Regiv Chandrasekaran of the "The Washington Post." He saw the Spanish convoy as it was being ambushed.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

REGIV CHANDRASEKARAN, "WASHINGTON POST": It's not clear there was any chase. What was described was that they were followed, and that the occupant's at least one car opened fire on the two Spanish vehicles, forcing one off the road. And I could see that one vehicle that had gone off the road into a large, muddy patch, and was on fire.

At that point, we were told that both the fighters in the vehicle as well as other fighters who had been laying in wait in this area, opened fire on those two vehicles. There was a heavy exchange of fire back and forth.

Both vehicles subsequently were engulfed in flames. It appears that at least the occupants of one of the vehicles were able to get out, and -- but three of those occupants were killed, and then it appears that four occupants in the other vehicle that was run off the road were killed in their vehicle.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

RODGERS: Again, the death toll in that ambush of the Spanish intelligence unit, seven dead, one wounded, and Iraqi civilians were seen kicking the dead bodies and dancing jubilantly afterwards -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Walt, thank you very much. Walt Rodgers with the latest on the situation in Iraq. We'll be checking in with you throughout the day.

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




Spanish Agents>