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U.S. Soldier Killed in Tikrit
Aired November 03, 2003 - 13:33 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: First, it was explosions in Baghdad. Now we are being told an explosion in Tikrit. Matthew Chance once again out of Baghdad with more.
What are you finding out, Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously a great deal of activity that's just coming, filtering through to us here in Baghdad. We'll start with that explosion in Tikrit. This is of the kind of attack that has become almost a daily routine here in various area across Iraq. We are hearing from the military people in Tikrit, the U.S. military spokesmen in Tikrit, that one U.S. soldier, at least one, has been killed when his vehicle went over a land mine or was attacked by a roadside bomb, detonated as the vehicle went past. We understand that he is a member of the 4th Infantry Division, but any other personal details have been withheld until the authorities contact his relatives.
But just another example of the kind of daily tragedy that is being faced by U.S. soldiers, the other coalition troops on the ground of this country on a daily basis. Let's turn now to the other developing story that we've come up here to report to you, a number of loud explosions rocking Baghdad, shaking the sort of ground that we were standing on. We've come up here to try and observe exactly what the situation is. We've also sent a team out to the location where we believe these explosions took place, but we understand now from coalition officials that between three and four mortars were lobbed into an area around central Baghdad.
We understand from other sources that that area may be in the vicinity of the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the CPA, the occupying authority in this country. That's an area about five kilometers, three miles or so, from this position. If it is around that area, well, it's supposed to be a very tightly secured part of the city, and it's certainly an area where it's not easy to drive up to those buildings, so it may be some time until we get a more accurate picture of what exactly is going on.
But certainly coalition authorities over the course of the past few days, and indeed few weeks, have been warning of a possible increased threat to their personnel on the ground, saying they've identified intelligence that says there will be a surge of violence against them over this period. This has been given some credibility by the fact that over the course of the last weekend, it's been some of the bloodiest times for the U.S. forces on the ground, certainly since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq six months ago, just on Sunday, a U.S. helicopter, of course, since we've been reporting was shot out of the skies by what's believed to have been a surface-to-air missile near the town of Fallujah in the east of the country, 16 U.S. personnel died as a result of that. Another 20 were injured, some of them seriously. They've been evacuated to a military hospital in Landstuhl in Germany. So this situation obviously getting more and more intense by the day here, it seems.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Matthew Chance out of Baghdad. Thank you, I'll continue to check with you as the news develops.
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 November 3, 2003 - 13:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: First, it was explosions in Baghdad. Now we are being told an explosion in Tikrit. Matthew Chance once again out of Baghdad with more.
What are you finding out, Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously a great deal of activity that's just coming, filtering through to us here in Baghdad. We'll start with that explosion in Tikrit. This is of the kind of attack that has become almost a daily routine here in various area across Iraq. We are hearing from the military people in Tikrit, the U.S. military spokesmen in Tikrit, that one U.S. soldier, at least one, has been killed when his vehicle went over a land mine or was attacked by a roadside bomb, detonated as the vehicle went past. We understand that he is a member of the 4th Infantry Division, but any other personal details have been withheld until the authorities contact his relatives.
But just another example of the kind of daily tragedy that is being faced by U.S. soldiers, the other coalition troops on the ground of this country on a daily basis. Let's turn now to the other developing story that we've come up here to report to you, a number of loud explosions rocking Baghdad, shaking the sort of ground that we were standing on. We've come up here to try and observe exactly what the situation is. We've also sent a team out to the location where we believe these explosions took place, but we understand now from coalition officials that between three and four mortars were lobbed into an area around central Baghdad.
We understand from other sources that that area may be in the vicinity of the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the CPA, the occupying authority in this country. That's an area about five kilometers, three miles or so, from this position. If it is around that area, well, it's supposed to be a very tightly secured part of the city, and it's certainly an area where it's not easy to drive up to those buildings, so it may be some time until we get a more accurate picture of what exactly is going on.
But certainly coalition authorities over the course of the past few days, and indeed few weeks, have been warning of a possible increased threat to their personnel on the ground, saying they've identified intelligence that says there will be a surge of violence against them over this period. This has been given some credibility by the fact that over the course of the last weekend, it's been some of the bloodiest times for the U.S. forces on the ground, certainly since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq six months ago, just on Sunday, a U.S. helicopter, of course, since we've been reporting was shot out of the skies by what's believed to have been a surface-to-air missile near the town of Fallujah in the east of the country, 16 U.S. personnel died as a result of that. Another 20 were injured, some of them seriously. They've been evacuated to a military hospital in Landstuhl in Germany. So this situation obviously getting more and more intense by the day here, it seems.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Matthew Chance out of Baghdad. Thank you, I'll continue to check with you as the news develops.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
