Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Two American Soldiers Killed in Iraq

Aired July 10, 2003 - 15:29   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The killing goes on Iraq, two more American soldiers killed in ambushes. And President Bush says there's no question we've got a security issue.
The latest now live from Baghdad, CNN's Nic Robertson -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, those two soldiers killed in the center of Iraq in the so-called Sunni triangle, one in the north, Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, that particular soldier killed when the patrol he was on was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

The soldier dying in the southern edge of the Sunni triangle at a checkpoint on the major highway, he was engaged by gunfire, his patrol was. And he died as a result of injuries sustained there.

This is, however, not stopping the effort of troops here to track down those responsible for these deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): U.S. troops line up to storm a house. A pre-dawn raid to capture a man suspected of killing U.S. troops.

From a blanked-out command post, a call to helicopters.

More troops go over the wall, as our microphone on the lead team picks up, urgency inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Get that sledgehammer up there. Go, go, go, get in there!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go, go!

ROBERTSON: Military police monitor outside as the raid unfolds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get him on the ground! get him on the ground!

ROBERTSON: Above, helicopters spot someone escaping. When we get in, two men, three women and five children are being questioned.

Dean (ph), the translator, tells them, "Your brother is a gangster. He killed two Americans."

The men protest, but when asked to describe their brother, say he's not tall and not short and has normal hair. As they are lead away for further questioning, the women break down. Elsewhere in the house, soldiers search for weapons, documents, and evidence they have come to the right address. The living room, testimony to their thoroughness.

Day just beginning to break, and fearing a suspect may have escaped next door, troops enter the next house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, get back!

ROBERTSON: Soldiers tense as the house holder leads them to their weapons, two automatic machine guns, now confiscated.

In the front room, the search goes on. Amidst the chaos, suffering. "This is my son," she protests. "He was killed by Saddam." As the soldier leaves, she chastises them. "There is nothing. Why don't you believe me?"

Daylight and the operation winding down, a debrief from the captain in charge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we may have been a couple of days late. Some of the suspects on the shoot we were looking for were seen here two days ago. We think we've apprehended some of their relatives. We're going to bring them in for counterintelligence to answer some questions.

ROBERTSON: Both now sitting under guard in the makeshift police wagon. Analysis from the man leading the raid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was a success. We got a lot of good information about the guy. And information will help out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: But without good, accurate intelligence, officers know that they're facing an uphill battle to catch their attackers. And it's something they're acutely aware of because they know if they make any mistakes, this can be counterproductive to the community they're trying to help there.

PHILLIPS: Nic, when you see this videotape and see how frightened the women and children are, what type of efforts are made to quell that fear? Is there always a translator on hand?

ROBERTSON: A translator is on hand. The troops talked about that in advance several hours before the raid. We talked with them. They knew that there was going to be children in there. They believed they knew how many. They had an idea where they might be located, that there would be women in the house as well. So they had a plan on how to deal with it.

They were more interested, in this particular case, in the men and one of the women inside the house. Those were their primary targets. They feared the men may have weapons. That was a concern.

But they're always aware, they say, if they're going in, that there are children there, they now how to deal with them, they know that they are nervous, and they know what they need to do is calm everybody down as much as possible.

Experts in these type of raids often believe that when women are involved, the men of the house are probably less likely to fight back, and the troops know of that and are aware of that as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Nic Robertson's an exclusive report, thank you.

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 July 10, 2003 - 15:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The killing goes on Iraq, two more American soldiers killed in ambushes. And President Bush says there's no question we've got a security issue.
The latest now live from Baghdad, CNN's Nic Robertson -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, those two soldiers killed in the center of Iraq in the so-called Sunni triangle, one in the north, Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, that particular soldier killed when the patrol he was on was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

The soldier dying in the southern edge of the Sunni triangle at a checkpoint on the major highway, he was engaged by gunfire, his patrol was. And he died as a result of injuries sustained there.

This is, however, not stopping the effort of troops here to track down those responsible for these deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): U.S. troops line up to storm a house. A pre-dawn raid to capture a man suspected of killing U.S. troops.

From a blanked-out command post, a call to helicopters.

More troops go over the wall, as our microphone on the lead team picks up, urgency inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Get that sledgehammer up there. Go, go, go, get in there!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go, go!

ROBERTSON: Military police monitor outside as the raid unfolds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get him on the ground! get him on the ground!

ROBERTSON: Above, helicopters spot someone escaping. When we get in, two men, three women and five children are being questioned.

Dean (ph), the translator, tells them, "Your brother is a gangster. He killed two Americans."

The men protest, but when asked to describe their brother, say he's not tall and not short and has normal hair. As they are lead away for further questioning, the women break down. Elsewhere in the house, soldiers search for weapons, documents, and evidence they have come to the right address. The living room, testimony to their thoroughness.

Day just beginning to break, and fearing a suspect may have escaped next door, troops enter the next house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, get back!

ROBERTSON: Soldiers tense as the house holder leads them to their weapons, two automatic machine guns, now confiscated.

In the front room, the search goes on. Amidst the chaos, suffering. "This is my son," she protests. "He was killed by Saddam." As the soldier leaves, she chastises them. "There is nothing. Why don't you believe me?"

Daylight and the operation winding down, a debrief from the captain in charge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we may have been a couple of days late. Some of the suspects on the shoot we were looking for were seen here two days ago. We think we've apprehended some of their relatives. We're going to bring them in for counterintelligence to answer some questions.

ROBERTSON: Both now sitting under guard in the makeshift police wagon. Analysis from the man leading the raid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was a success. We got a lot of good information about the guy. And information will help out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: But without good, accurate intelligence, officers know that they're facing an uphill battle to catch their attackers. And it's something they're acutely aware of because they know if they make any mistakes, this can be counterproductive to the community they're trying to help there.

PHILLIPS: Nic, when you see this videotape and see how frightened the women and children are, what type of efforts are made to quell that fear? Is there always a translator on hand?

ROBERTSON: A translator is on hand. The troops talked about that in advance several hours before the raid. We talked with them. They knew that there was going to be children in there. They believed they knew how many. They had an idea where they might be located, that there would be women in the house as well. So they had a plan on how to deal with it.

They were more interested, in this particular case, in the men and one of the women inside the house. Those were their primary targets. They feared the men may have weapons. That was a concern.

But they're always aware, they say, if they're going in, that there are children there, they now how to deal with them, they know that they are nervous, and they know what they need to do is calm everybody down as much as possible.

Experts in these type of raids often believe that when women are involved, the men of the house are probably less likely to fight back, and the troops know of that and are aware of that as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Nic Robertson's an exclusive report, thank you.

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