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Explosions Shake Downtown Baghdad

Aired November 03, 2003 - 15:01   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: Up first this hour, new attacks, unknown casualties, the usual suspects in Iraq. Thunderous explosions shook downtown Baghdad at nightfall. Apparently mortar shells perhaps targeting the Coalition Provisional Authority in a former presidential palace.
It happened in the aftermath of a daylight missile strike that brought down a U.S. helicopter loaded with soldiers. Sixteen are dead, 21 wounded. And the investigation is well under way.

CNN's Jamie McIntyre live from the Pentagon with new information of what's going on -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra, a day after the U.S. has suffered the highest casualty count in Iraq since the first week of the war, President Bush is insisting he will not cut and run in Iraq. And U.S. military commanders are saying that they will stick to their strategy of hunting down the insurgents and turning over security as quickly as possible to the Iraqi police force.

Today in Ramstein, Germany, 16 of the 20 soldiers who were injured in the downing of that helicopter arrived at Ramstein Air Force Base -- Air Base rather -- to get a higher level of medical care. Eleven are reported to be in intensive care; five not quite as seriously injured.

Of course, 16 of their colleagues, other soldiers, were killed in the downing of that CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The U.S. government says it's saddened, but President Bush says it has left the United States unbowed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They know that the advance of freedom in Iraq will be a major defeat for the cause of terror. This collection of killers trying to shake the will of America. We will not be intimidated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Because the CH-47 helicopter was flying so low over Iraq, there wasn't much time for it to react, even if it was equipped with the kind of countermeasures that would counter a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile. Pentagon sources indicate the helicopter may have been flying as low as 200 feet over the Iraqi countryside, a tactic that minimizes the time it's over one area. U.S. military commanders say they have not instituted any ban on daylight flights in Iraq. However, the U.S. will review how it is using helicopters in Iraq to ensure that it's not operating in a predictable way that would give enemies of the coalition forces the opportunity to try to target helicopters.

It's still seen as one of the safest and fastest ways to get around Iraq, where U.S. troops are subject to convoy attack on the ground as well. An investigation of that accident is under way. And in just a few minutes, Kyra, the Pentagon is expected to release eight of the names, the identification of those killed in the downing of the helicopter once their families have been notified -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon, thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Seventeen of the soldiers aboard that helicopter were based at Ft. Carson in Colorado. Most of them on their way home. And today, as you might imagine, emotions there running very high.

CNN's Bob Franken joins us from the base. Hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello. And of course there is a term that we hear all the time, grieving process. But it really doesn't capture the despair that families feel, particularly in this case, where some of those who were coming home were on that helicopter -- were coming home so they could participate in a little bit of rest and recreation. In other words, it was to be a happy moment.

And now the families that were anticipating this are now in the depths of despair, mourning the loss of their loved ones, having the explanation...

O'BRIEN: Bob Franken, I'm sorry, we have to interrupt. We're going to shift gears here. Please stand by. We'll get back to you in a moment.

We're going to go and listen now to Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. This is Major General Michael Maples. He is the general at Ft. Sill.

MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL MAPLES, U.S. ARMY: Fort Sill is home of the 3rd Corps Artillery, which currently has some 3,000 soldiers serving in Iraq. Tragically, several of those soldiers were aboard the aircraft that was lost yesterday. As you can imagine, for the last day and a half we have been focused on ensuring proper notification of families, of ensuring that those families and their needs have been taken care of. And that the needs of other family members of soldiers who are deployed from this community are also being addressed.

From all of us in the Lawton Ft. Sill community, we express our heartfelt condolences to all of those who have suffered loss as a result of this incident. I have with me today Brigadier General Richard Formica. Brigadier General Formica is the commanding general of the 3rd Corps Artillery. And I have Colonel Al Schneider. Colonel Schneider is the commander of the 212 Field Artillery Brigade. And at this time, Brigadier General Formica would like to address you with a statement -- General Formica.

BRIG. GEN. RICHARD FORMICA, THE 3RD CORPS ARTILLERY: Good afternoon.

Yesterday, as General Maples said, 3rd Corps Artillery lost six soldiers in the helicopter that went down in Iraq and we had six others that were injured in the same incident. All of our soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion 5th Field Artillery.

We are deeply saddened by the deaths and by the injuries of all coalition soldiers and civilians who lost their lives and were injured yesterday and throughout this operation. And we, too, extend our heartfelt sympathies to their families, their friends and their units. They will remain in our thoughts and in our prayers.

We'll focus here at Fort Sill on our families in their time of need so that our units and soldiers there can focus on their mission.

Needless to say, yesterday was a tough day. Yesterday, we concentrated on obtaining accurate information and ensuring that official notifications to the next of kin were conducted to standard, to reaching out to and caring for families and at the same time reassuring families of our many other soldiers who are deployed.

As of this time, official notification to all of the designated next of kin who have been identified has been completed for one soldier who was killed and for all six who were injured.

Today, we continue focusing on our families. Colonel Al Schneider and Command Sergeant Major Eddie Wood and the brigade, which is the parent headquarters for 2-5, will continue the tremendous caring support that they began yesterday, especially focused on initially those families here in the Lawton, Fort Sill area.

We must continue to ensure that the notification process for primary and secondary next of kin is completed and then we'll begin to reach out to extended families at their homes in the next few days.

Casualty assistance...

O'BRIEN: We have been listening to a news conference out of Ft. Sill in Oklahoma. And we're going to drop out of it right now because we have other pressing matters to get to. We're going to monitor it. If there is an additional information that is relevant, we'll get it to you right away. That was Brigadier General Richard Formica, preceded by Major General Michael Maples, both out of Ft. Sill -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now to Baghdad, where those mortars are probably still smoldering and where our Matthew Chance is gathering news on the attacks, at least two others in the past few hours. Matthew Chance with more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we do know is that the coalition authorities have been warning for some days now and some weeks that they believe that personnel have come under renewed and intensified threat from these kinds of violent attacks. Indeed, they issued a warning over the course of the past few days, saying that they're expecting a big surge in violence against their personnel on the ground.

That warning, that prediction, was given some credibility over the course of the last few days. This weekend, we can remind our viewers, was the bloodiest weekend for U.S. forces on the ground since President Bush declared an end to the major combat operations in Iraq six months ago. A helicopter, of course, shot down near Fallujah, claiming the lives of 16 servicemen, another 20 injured.

What these attacks, what explosions turn out to be, we'll just have to wait and see. We will have some more information coming to us over the coming minutes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: CNN's Matthew Chance in Baghdad.

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 - 15:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Up first this hour, new attacks, unknown casualties, the usual suspects in Iraq. Thunderous explosions shook downtown Baghdad at nightfall. Apparently mortar shells perhaps targeting the Coalition Provisional Authority in a former presidential palace.
It happened in the aftermath of a daylight missile strike that brought down a U.S. helicopter loaded with soldiers. Sixteen are dead, 21 wounded. And the investigation is well under way.

CNN's Jamie McIntyre live from the Pentagon with new information of what's going on -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra, a day after the U.S. has suffered the highest casualty count in Iraq since the first week of the war, President Bush is insisting he will not cut and run in Iraq. And U.S. military commanders are saying that they will stick to their strategy of hunting down the insurgents and turning over security as quickly as possible to the Iraqi police force.

Today in Ramstein, Germany, 16 of the 20 soldiers who were injured in the downing of that helicopter arrived at Ramstein Air Force Base -- Air Base rather -- to get a higher level of medical care. Eleven are reported to be in intensive care; five not quite as seriously injured.

Of course, 16 of their colleagues, other soldiers, were killed in the downing of that CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The U.S. government says it's saddened, but President Bush says it has left the United States unbowed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They know that the advance of freedom in Iraq will be a major defeat for the cause of terror. This collection of killers trying to shake the will of America. We will not be intimidated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Because the CH-47 helicopter was flying so low over Iraq, there wasn't much time for it to react, even if it was equipped with the kind of countermeasures that would counter a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile. Pentagon sources indicate the helicopter may have been flying as low as 200 feet over the Iraqi countryside, a tactic that minimizes the time it's over one area. U.S. military commanders say they have not instituted any ban on daylight flights in Iraq. However, the U.S. will review how it is using helicopters in Iraq to ensure that it's not operating in a predictable way that would give enemies of the coalition forces the opportunity to try to target helicopters.

It's still seen as one of the safest and fastest ways to get around Iraq, where U.S. troops are subject to convoy attack on the ground as well. An investigation of that accident is under way. And in just a few minutes, Kyra, the Pentagon is expected to release eight of the names, the identification of those killed in the downing of the helicopter once their families have been notified -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon, thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Seventeen of the soldiers aboard that helicopter were based at Ft. Carson in Colorado. Most of them on their way home. And today, as you might imagine, emotions there running very high.

CNN's Bob Franken joins us from the base. Hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello. And of course there is a term that we hear all the time, grieving process. But it really doesn't capture the despair that families feel, particularly in this case, where some of those who were coming home were on that helicopter -- were coming home so they could participate in a little bit of rest and recreation. In other words, it was to be a happy moment.

And now the families that were anticipating this are now in the depths of despair, mourning the loss of their loved ones, having the explanation...

O'BRIEN: Bob Franken, I'm sorry, we have to interrupt. We're going to shift gears here. Please stand by. We'll get back to you in a moment.

We're going to go and listen now to Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. This is Major General Michael Maples. He is the general at Ft. Sill.

MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL MAPLES, U.S. ARMY: Fort Sill is home of the 3rd Corps Artillery, which currently has some 3,000 soldiers serving in Iraq. Tragically, several of those soldiers were aboard the aircraft that was lost yesterday. As you can imagine, for the last day and a half we have been focused on ensuring proper notification of families, of ensuring that those families and their needs have been taken care of. And that the needs of other family members of soldiers who are deployed from this community are also being addressed.

From all of us in the Lawton Ft. Sill community, we express our heartfelt condolences to all of those who have suffered loss as a result of this incident. I have with me today Brigadier General Richard Formica. Brigadier General Formica is the commanding general of the 3rd Corps Artillery. And I have Colonel Al Schneider. Colonel Schneider is the commander of the 212 Field Artillery Brigade. And at this time, Brigadier General Formica would like to address you with a statement -- General Formica.

BRIG. GEN. RICHARD FORMICA, THE 3RD CORPS ARTILLERY: Good afternoon.

Yesterday, as General Maples said, 3rd Corps Artillery lost six soldiers in the helicopter that went down in Iraq and we had six others that were injured in the same incident. All of our soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion 5th Field Artillery.

We are deeply saddened by the deaths and by the injuries of all coalition soldiers and civilians who lost their lives and were injured yesterday and throughout this operation. And we, too, extend our heartfelt sympathies to their families, their friends and their units. They will remain in our thoughts and in our prayers.

We'll focus here at Fort Sill on our families in their time of need so that our units and soldiers there can focus on their mission.

Needless to say, yesterday was a tough day. Yesterday, we concentrated on obtaining accurate information and ensuring that official notifications to the next of kin were conducted to standard, to reaching out to and caring for families and at the same time reassuring families of our many other soldiers who are deployed.

As of this time, official notification to all of the designated next of kin who have been identified has been completed for one soldier who was killed and for all six who were injured.

Today, we continue focusing on our families. Colonel Al Schneider and Command Sergeant Major Eddie Wood and the brigade, which is the parent headquarters for 2-5, will continue the tremendous caring support that they began yesterday, especially focused on initially those families here in the Lawton, Fort Sill area.

We must continue to ensure that the notification process for primary and secondary next of kin is completed and then we'll begin to reach out to extended families at their homes in the next few days.

Casualty assistance...

O'BRIEN: We have been listening to a news conference out of Ft. Sill in Oklahoma. And we're going to drop out of it right now because we have other pressing matters to get to. We're going to monitor it. If there is an additional information that is relevant, we'll get it to you right away. That was Brigadier General Richard Formica, preceded by Major General Michael Maples, both out of Ft. Sill -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now to Baghdad, where those mortars are probably still smoldering and where our Matthew Chance is gathering news on the attacks, at least two others in the past few hours. Matthew Chance with more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we do know is that the coalition authorities have been warning for some days now and some weeks that they believe that personnel have come under renewed and intensified threat from these kinds of violent attacks. Indeed, they issued a warning over the course of the past few days, saying that they're expecting a big surge in violence against their personnel on the ground.

That warning, that prediction, was given some credibility over the course of the last few days. This weekend, we can remind our viewers, was the bloodiest weekend for U.S. forces on the ground since President Bush declared an end to the major combat operations in Iraq six months ago. A helicopter, of course, shot down near Fallujah, claiming the lives of 16 servicemen, another 20 injured.

What these attacks, what explosions turn out to be, we'll just have to wait and see. We will have some more information coming to us over the coming minutes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: CNN's Matthew Chance in Baghdad.

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