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War Still Unfolds in Tikrit

Aired April 14, 2003 - 12:13   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: I want to break away from the joyous celebration of all of these POWs and the reunions that they're anticipating with their loved ones, to remind our viewers there's still a war going on. And the war still unfolds in the home town, the ancestral home town of Saddam Hussein. That's in Tikrit, about 100 miles or so north of Baghdad.
"TIME" magazine's Michael Ware is now there. He's in Tikrit. Tell us what's going on, Michael.

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME": Well, the American forces arrived about 24 hours ago, as night tell on Tikrit. Surprisingly, they met little resistance.

A number of hundreds of Fedayeen Saddam, loyalists hard core fighters, were left behind under the direction of the governor to meet the Americans. However, they faded away.

Now in the daytime, what we have seen is Americans in mopping up operation. There's been some light engagements and some bombing of some vehicles of the Iraqi (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Now the Marines are attempting to secure the city and have established checkpoints at all entrances and exits and are now patrolling the suburbs.

BLITZER: Michael, is it your sense that the only resistance now are those pockets of fighters that no formal Republican Guard, no formal regular Iraqi army or even those Fedayeen Saddam exist any longer in Tikrit?

WARE: I believe they are still around. And the Americans are operating on the premise that fighters have been left behind. Primarily, the Americans have been encountering foreigners from Syria, Jordan, Palestine, with a mix of Republican Guard in amongst them. These people have melted back into the community.

There have been some small incidents today with vehicles full of guns or heavy weapons moving, which were quickly destroyed by air power. However, the vast majority of the fighting forces, Saddam Hussein's clan, his family and the top man from his regime left the city of Tikrit three days ago (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and the villages on the outskirts (UNINTELLIGIBLE) three days ago (UNINTELLIGIBLE) northeast.

BLITZER: Michael, you're sort of breaking up. But I want to ask you a final question. Maybe the line will get a little bit better.

You said the top leadership had left Tikrit three days ago and they headed out of town. But I didn't hear where they are heading toward or where they left toward. Do you know?

WARE: Yes. They left for a small village in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the northeast of Tikrit called (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which is now Arab controlled (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

Two vehicles full of Kurdish police entered that village two days ago. They have not been seen since. Three police survives who made it out described the scene of carnage, as heavy weapons were brought to bear upon them. The village where it is believed the family has gone is now a fortified Arab position.

BLITZER: A fortified Arab position. Does the U.S. military, as far as you can tell, whether the Marines or the soldiers or other coalition partners, are they surrounding this village? If you know about it, they obviously know about it as well.

What can you tell us, if anything, about the game plan? I think we -- I think we may have lost Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine, but he was giving us important information, saying the top leadership, Saddam Hussein's top leaders in Tikrit, had left that ancestral home town of the Iraqi leader about three days ago, headed for a village outside.

Some Kurdish police officers had gone in there two days ago, were basically wiped out. He said it's a fortified village with a lot of foreign, non--Iraqi Arabs in control over there. Presumably protecting some of those family members, the leaders of the Republican Guard of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party who he says, Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine, had managed to escape.

We were hoping to get some more information from him, but obviously his line has gone dead. We'll try to reconnect with Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine. We'll thank him, though, for that important information.

In Tikrit, itself, he says resistance, sporadic pockets of foreigners. Basically non-Iraqi Arabs continuing to fight. Still a very dangerous situation. But the organized resistance, apparently, has not materialized.

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 14, 2003 - 12:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to break away from the joyous celebration of all of these POWs and the reunions that they're anticipating with their loved ones, to remind our viewers there's still a war going on. And the war still unfolds in the home town, the ancestral home town of Saddam Hussein. That's in Tikrit, about 100 miles or so north of Baghdad.
"TIME" magazine's Michael Ware is now there. He's in Tikrit. Tell us what's going on, Michael.

MICHAEL WARE, "TIME": Well, the American forces arrived about 24 hours ago, as night tell on Tikrit. Surprisingly, they met little resistance.

A number of hundreds of Fedayeen Saddam, loyalists hard core fighters, were left behind under the direction of the governor to meet the Americans. However, they faded away.

Now in the daytime, what we have seen is Americans in mopping up operation. There's been some light engagements and some bombing of some vehicles of the Iraqi (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Now the Marines are attempting to secure the city and have established checkpoints at all entrances and exits and are now patrolling the suburbs.

BLITZER: Michael, is it your sense that the only resistance now are those pockets of fighters that no formal Republican Guard, no formal regular Iraqi army or even those Fedayeen Saddam exist any longer in Tikrit?

WARE: I believe they are still around. And the Americans are operating on the premise that fighters have been left behind. Primarily, the Americans have been encountering foreigners from Syria, Jordan, Palestine, with a mix of Republican Guard in amongst them. These people have melted back into the community.

There have been some small incidents today with vehicles full of guns or heavy weapons moving, which were quickly destroyed by air power. However, the vast majority of the fighting forces, Saddam Hussein's clan, his family and the top man from his regime left the city of Tikrit three days ago (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and the villages on the outskirts (UNINTELLIGIBLE) three days ago (UNINTELLIGIBLE) northeast.

BLITZER: Michael, you're sort of breaking up. But I want to ask you a final question. Maybe the line will get a little bit better.

You said the top leadership had left Tikrit three days ago and they headed out of town. But I didn't hear where they are heading toward or where they left toward. Do you know?

WARE: Yes. They left for a small village in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the northeast of Tikrit called (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which is now Arab controlled (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

Two vehicles full of Kurdish police entered that village two days ago. They have not been seen since. Three police survives who made it out described the scene of carnage, as heavy weapons were brought to bear upon them. The village where it is believed the family has gone is now a fortified Arab position.

BLITZER: A fortified Arab position. Does the U.S. military, as far as you can tell, whether the Marines or the soldiers or other coalition partners, are they surrounding this village? If you know about it, they obviously know about it as well.

What can you tell us, if anything, about the game plan? I think we -- I think we may have lost Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine, but he was giving us important information, saying the top leadership, Saddam Hussein's top leaders in Tikrit, had left that ancestral home town of the Iraqi leader about three days ago, headed for a village outside.

Some Kurdish police officers had gone in there two days ago, were basically wiped out. He said it's a fortified village with a lot of foreign, non--Iraqi Arabs in control over there. Presumably protecting some of those family members, the leaders of the Republican Guard of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party who he says, Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine, had managed to escape.

We were hoping to get some more information from him, but obviously his line has gone dead. We'll try to reconnect with Michael Ware of "TIME" magazine. We'll thank him, though, for that important information.

In Tikrit, itself, he says resistance, sporadic pockets of foreigners. Basically non-Iraqi Arabs continuing to fight. Still a very dangerous situation. But the organized resistance, apparently, has not materialized.

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