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"No Slack" Still After Iraqi Paramilitaries in Najaf
Aired April 02, 2003 - 12:23 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We'll show you some live pictures of Baghdad. A little while ago more explosions rocked the Iraqi capital. We're watching to see where those explosions occurred, what the targets were.
We know that just south of Baghdad, in the outskirts of Baghdad, 25, 30 miles, a huge battle in the works right now. U.S. Marines, U.S. Army soldiers moving towards the Iraqi capital. It could be a decisive battle. We're watching all of that, and we'll have all the latest. As soon as we get it, we'll bring it to you.
In the meantime, U.S. Army troops from the 101st Airborne tangled with Iraqi so-called Fedayeen Saddam earlier today after a chance encounter at an intersection. It happened in the central Iraqi city of Najaf, a holy city for Shiite Muslims. And U.S. forces say that fact, too, is being exploited by Iraqi fighters.
The Central Command says Iraqis are firing out of a mosque. And U.S. troops are not, repeat not, firing back. There's also a fair amount of walking and searching and waiting, as we can hear now from CNN's Ryan Chilcote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Grunts from the 327th Infantry's 2nd Battalion, better known as No Slack, marched through a patch of palm trees, black clouds of smoke, and 69 landmines, into Iraq's holy city of Najaf. The second day of an attack to root out Fedayeen paramilitaries who have used the city as a safe haven to launch attacks against U.S. forces for more than a week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
CHILCOTE: The goal: to deny the Fedayeen's movement...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a family of six (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CHILCOTE: ... while causing minimal disruption to the largely pro-American Shia population and its religious sites.
(on camera): Searching house to house, street to street is slow, tedious and dangerous work. If it comes to this in Baghdad, things could take a very long time.
(voice-over): But first, some of the cities on the way to Baghdad, like this one, will have to be secured. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ready?
CHILCOTE: Teams of four move with painstaking procedure a dozen blocks deep into the heart of Najaf. Sergeant Michael Bowers (ph) from Virginia sharing my take on the day.
(on camera): What do you think about this door to door, street to street stuff?
SGT. MICHAEL BOWERS: Long and tedious.
CHILCOTE: No Slack took no casualties and no return fire. They did see a lot of visibly pleased locals, though. Many of the Fedayeen they were told fled north to Baghdad. Still, they could come back, and there's no telling how many of them are still at large. Ryan Chilcote, CNN, with the 101st Airborne in Najaf, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 April 2, 2003 - 12:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We'll show you some live pictures of Baghdad. A little while ago more explosions rocked the Iraqi capital. We're watching to see where those explosions occurred, what the targets were.
We know that just south of Baghdad, in the outskirts of Baghdad, 25, 30 miles, a huge battle in the works right now. U.S. Marines, U.S. Army soldiers moving towards the Iraqi capital. It could be a decisive battle. We're watching all of that, and we'll have all the latest. As soon as we get it, we'll bring it to you.
In the meantime, U.S. Army troops from the 101st Airborne tangled with Iraqi so-called Fedayeen Saddam earlier today after a chance encounter at an intersection. It happened in the central Iraqi city of Najaf, a holy city for Shiite Muslims. And U.S. forces say that fact, too, is being exploited by Iraqi fighters.
The Central Command says Iraqis are firing out of a mosque. And U.S. troops are not, repeat not, firing back. There's also a fair amount of walking and searching and waiting, as we can hear now from CNN's Ryan Chilcote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Grunts from the 327th Infantry's 2nd Battalion, better known as No Slack, marched through a patch of palm trees, black clouds of smoke, and 69 landmines, into Iraq's holy city of Najaf. The second day of an attack to root out Fedayeen paramilitaries who have used the city as a safe haven to launch attacks against U.S. forces for more than a week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
CHILCOTE: The goal: to deny the Fedayeen's movement...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a family of six (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CHILCOTE: ... while causing minimal disruption to the largely pro-American Shia population and its religious sites.
(on camera): Searching house to house, street to street is slow, tedious and dangerous work. If it comes to this in Baghdad, things could take a very long time.
(voice-over): But first, some of the cities on the way to Baghdad, like this one, will have to be secured. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ready?
CHILCOTE: Teams of four move with painstaking procedure a dozen blocks deep into the heart of Najaf. Sergeant Michael Bowers (ph) from Virginia sharing my take on the day.
(on camera): What do you think about this door to door, street to street stuff?
SGT. MICHAEL BOWERS: Long and tedious.
CHILCOTE: No Slack took no casualties and no return fire. They did see a lot of visibly pleased locals, though. Many of the Fedayeen they were told fled north to Baghdad. Still, they could come back, and there's no telling how many of them are still at large. Ryan Chilcote, CNN, with the 101st Airborne in Najaf, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
