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Pentagon: Four Hurt in Baghdad Mortar Strike
Aired November 04, 2003 - 15:02 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: Code red in the Green Zone. That's a one-square mile chunk of Baghdad in which the Coalition Provisional Authority makes its home in the former presidential palace. For the second straight night that area came under mortar fire, and the Pentagon says four people are now hurt.
CNN's Barbara Starr at her post with the latest -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, indeed smoke was seen rising over Baghdad after these three explosions, believed to be mortar fire, hit this area. Now, the projectiles were said to have landed in the secure Green Zone, as you say, of Baghdad, central Baghdad, where the Coalition Provisional Authority is located and many of the top offices that are running the interim authority. This includes a former palace of Saddam Hussein, which is the actual coalition headquarters. But officials say that the headquarters building itself was not directly affected.
Four people wounded, one treated at the scene, three transferred to a military hospital. Not known at this time if the injured were civilians or military.
Authorities were said to be using spotlights directly following the incident to try and search the Tigris River area of Baghdad to see if they could locate the attackers. This, of course, the second night that this has occurred in Baghdad. Last night, other mortar fire in central Baghdad, although no one was hurt in that incident.
This is proving -- may prove to be a very tough problem to solve, because while the Green Zone itself is a highly secure area, it's in the middle of the city. There are neighborhoods and other residential and business areas surrounding it. The attacks may be launched from those areas, and certainly the coalition cannot clear out these Baghdad neighborhoods.
If they were on a battlefield, there are counter-mortar systems, radars that particularly are equipped to look for these types of mortar launches, but those are used on a battlefield and they would be used to launch a counter attack, not something that's going to happen in central Baghdad -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr from the Pentagon, thanks.
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 4, 2003 - 15:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Code red in the Green Zone. That's a one-square mile chunk of Baghdad in which the Coalition Provisional Authority makes its home in the former presidential palace. For the second straight night that area came under mortar fire, and the Pentagon says four people are now hurt.
CNN's Barbara Starr at her post with the latest -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, indeed smoke was seen rising over Baghdad after these three explosions, believed to be mortar fire, hit this area. Now, the projectiles were said to have landed in the secure Green Zone, as you say, of Baghdad, central Baghdad, where the Coalition Provisional Authority is located and many of the top offices that are running the interim authority. This includes a former palace of Saddam Hussein, which is the actual coalition headquarters. But officials say that the headquarters building itself was not directly affected.
Four people wounded, one treated at the scene, three transferred to a military hospital. Not known at this time if the injured were civilians or military.
Authorities were said to be using spotlights directly following the incident to try and search the Tigris River area of Baghdad to see if they could locate the attackers. This, of course, the second night that this has occurred in Baghdad. Last night, other mortar fire in central Baghdad, although no one was hurt in that incident.
This is proving -- may prove to be a very tough problem to solve, because while the Green Zone itself is a highly secure area, it's in the middle of the city. There are neighborhoods and other residential and business areas surrounding it. The attacks may be launched from those areas, and certainly the coalition cannot clear out these Baghdad neighborhoods.
If they were on a battlefield, there are counter-mortar systems, radars that particularly are equipped to look for these types of mortar launches, but those are used on a battlefield and they would be used to launch a counter attack, not something that's going to happen in central Baghdad -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr from the Pentagon, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
