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Attack on U.S. Mess Tent in Mosul Kills 24; Private Funeral Held Today for Bobbie Jo Stinnett
Aired December 21, 2004 - 14:00 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bloodshed in Iraq. American soldiers among the dozens dead or injured. We expect a live statement soon from Fort Lewis, where many of those soldiers were based. We're live in Baghdad as well.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Use it or lose it. Americans losing millions of dollars at the end of the year. Find out what you could do to keep more money in your pocket.
O'BRIEN: This St. Nick used to be an American soldier. Find out why for 60 years a tiny European village says he is the only Santa they want.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
The target was soft, the enemy hard. Hard to find, hard to fight, hard to defeat. Now the death and destruction are severe at Forward Operating Base Marez near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, site of the noontime blast in a mess tent that killed at least 24 U.S. and Iraqi troops and contractors and wounded dozens more.
We get the latest from CNN's Karl Penhaul in Baghdad -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
It was midday local time, hundreds of troops were tucking into well-earned chow. They put their rifles at their sides, they would have taken off their flak jackets. This would have been a well-earned rest to just talk a little with buddies and to eat that well-earned food, and then in comes a rocket or a mortar, we don't know at this stage.
What we do know from U.S. military spokesmen on the ground is at least 24 people have been killed and more than 60 others wounded. The dead a mixture of U.S. soldiers, Iraqi National Guardsmen and U.S. and Iraqi contractors, all of them based at Camp Marez near Mosul. This is what General Carter Ham had to say about the attack.
PHILLIPS: Now we want to take you live to Fort Lewis, Washington. We'll get back to Karl Penhaul in a minute. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Costello talking about that attack on his unit.
LT. COL. BILL COSTELLO, FT. LEWIS PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: ... the number of casualties or whether notification has begun. I do want to extend -- again, we want to extend our condolences. As we saw from the reports this morning, the soldiers of the United States, Fort Lewis-based soldiers, their Iraqi counterparts took action to quickly evacuate those who were wounded and attempt to prevent the further loss of life. That's all I have at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, can you give us your name?
COSTELLO: Sure. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Bill Costello, C-O-S-T- E-L-L-O. I'm the public affairs officer for First Corps.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: Well, obviously these soldiers were members of the -- the soldiers in Mosul, Iraq, are members of Task Force Olympia and the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division here in Fort Lewis. Again, I have no information on how many soldiers were killed or whether they were Fort Lewis-based in part or in total.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you give us an idea of the tenor of the families here? I spoke to some people who said obviously they -- their hearts go out, and they just said information comes down so sporadically in order to keep the morale here up.
COSTELLO: There's obviously great concern. I mean, any time there's a loss of life, whether it's December or whether it's August, people are on edge and they want to know as much information as they can. As we get the informationing from Iraq, we try to pass that onto the appropriate people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colonel, could you characterize their mission? Was this a patrol?
COSTELLO: I cannot. At the time, I cannot. No information as to what the cause of the explosion was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any idea what the soldiers (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: No, I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any information about (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: Well, obviously we're over there to provide stability and support. The operation in Mosul is obviously dangerous.
They replaced soldiers of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division several months ago. Those soldiers from 3-2 are back here now. It's a dangerous operation over there, but we -- they continue to work with their Iraqi counterparts to provide stability and support in the northern region of Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many soldiers from this base are in that area? Do you know?
COSTELLO: A total of about 6,700 -- more than 6,700 Fort Lewis- based soldiers are in Iraq right now. Not all of them are in Mosul, but there are about - there are more than 6,700 in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many are in the total area?
COSTELLO: I do not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say again how long (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: Yes. They replaced the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which was the first Stryker Brigade combat team to deploy from Fort Lewis. And they started deploying in the October time frame, and they're expected to be over there for about a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any information about the base where this attack occurred? How many Fort Lewis soldiers might have been there?
COSTELLO: I do not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can you tell us with regard to this attack? This was a direct hit, very effective. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: I can't. Unfortunately, I can't. I don't know what the cause -- I do not know what the cause of the attack was. And I can't speculate on it. That information will...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: I don't have any information.
PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Colonel Bill Costello there briefing reporters. Doesn't really have a lot of information, but we can continue to update you with the information that we do have. We did check in there at Fort Lewis, Washington, because the U.S. Army's Task Force Olympia is based in that city.
Let's bring our Karl Penhaul back with us out of Baghdad.
Obviously, you seem to be reporting a lot more from where you are, Karl. So maybe you can tell our viewers a little bit more about Task Force Olympia and the mission of these soldiers that are based there in Mosul, the specific area that was hit today.
PENHAUL: Certainly, and I think certainly what we can see from that press conference out of Fort Lewis, just how hard the military are trying to work to piece together exactly what happened in this attack that occurred now 10 hours ago. But you can still see that the U.S. military is reeling from this. There are a lot of casualties they have to tend to first, and then they'll get down to the business of figuring out exactly who has died, and then go through this painful process of letting the families know.
But Task Force Olympia, which is based up and around Mosul, over the last few weeks has had a busy time. Because when that offensive kicked off in the western city of Falluja, then also attacks did spike in and around the city of Mosul. Now, U.S. military commanders have a number of theories about this. They said that some of the insurgents formerly based in Falluja may have melted away and drifted up to Mosul to start attacks there. Other military commanders suggested these were classic rear guard attacks by insurgents normally based in Mosul to try and deflect and deviate some of the coalition firepower from Falluja.
There's also been speculation of late that part of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi network has also based itself in Mosul, and that's the reason why we've seen stepped-up attacks here. But the insurgents had specifically been targeting police stations there at one point. A lot of the police did in fact lay down their weapons and leave their posts because of the insurgent pressure. There was speculation that the insurgents had in fact managed to infiltrate completely the police officers there, and that's why Iraqi security forces couldn't stand up and fight for themselves.
So the U.S. -- the military authorities did launch an offensive there. But this really goes to the heart of what guerilla war is about.
Just as you think that the threat has died down, then an attack like this happens. Not clear yet whether this was a mortar or a rocket. But depending on the caliber of the weapon that was used, this artillery round could have been fired from as much as 15 or 16 miles away. And that does make it very difficult to deter these kind of threats altogether.
Add to that that the dining facilities both in this base and across many of the other bases that we visited in Iraq are soft- skinned buildings. They may be canvas, as it appears to have been in this case, or they may be of thin metal structures. But certainly not hardened bomb, missile-proof shelters. And it is one of the few times of day that soldiers are allowed to gather en masse.
And they do drop their guard. It's normal. It's mealtime.
They'll take off their flak jackets, they'll lay down their rifles, they'll engage in conversation with other comrades. Their guard is down. And so when a missile like this comes in, as we've seen from those photos from the "Richmond Times-Dispatch," chaos ensues.
In fact, along with the photographer that took those photos, there was also a pool reporter or a press reporter from the "Richmond Times-Dispatch," and he's drived how some of the soldiers loaded their buddies on to upturned dining tables to carry them away, using those as makeshift stretchers to take them off to the medics. Very harrowing scenes we've seen from those photographs. It also seems that part of the canvas tent turned into a fireball with this explosion -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul on the story there from Baghdad. Thank you so much -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: For months now, the Bush administration has publicly warned of a surge in violence leading up to next month's elections. And just today, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on a surprise visit to Baghdad, lamented what he called a wicked attempt to thwart democracy.
Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux live now at the White House.
Hello, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Well, within the hour or so, President Bush is going to be visiting Walter Reed Medical ---- Army Medical Center. That is where he's going to be visiting with wounded soldiers to show his support. It is a place called Fisher House, where the relatives gather to show their support for their loved ones while they recover from their injuries.
Now, the White House, of course, the president, keeping a very close eye in getting updates on the situation in Mosul. A senior administration official saying it is a very serious situation but it is not unexpected.
Part of the White House strategy now, of course, and has been, is to convince the American people that, yes, as we get closer to the Iraq democratic elections late January, things are going to become more difficult, more dangerous and more challenging on the ground. President Bush trying to prepare the American people for that reality. At the same time, a very delicate balancing act, of course, to express a sense of remorse and yet optimism that ultimately this Iraq-U.S. mission will work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president mourns the loss of life and prays for the feems of those who were killed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The terrorists and Saddam loyalists are desperately seeking to derail the transition to democracy and freedom in Iraq. The enemies of freedom understand the stakes involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And despite those difficulties and challenges, it was yesterday President Bush in his year-end press conference came out very clearly in support of his embattled secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, saying that he is a good man. He believes that he is up for the task.
Senior administration officials I spoke with saying that his job is not in jeopardy, that this is someone who is putting this first and foremost ahead of everything else, and that he is also, what he said, is under the hood, if you will, of this issue. Only second to President Bush, wants this simply to work.
But President Bush also yesterday, Miles, acknowledging that there are some difficulties. He acknowledged that it will become more dangerous, also that it is important that they have the proper equipment, they have the proper armor, and that even those Iraqi soldiers that U.S. has been so invested in training perhaps not up to the task now, but he believes in the months to come, certainly expects in the months to come, that things will change -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Loved ones are gathering to mourn a Missouri woman police say was strangled before her 8-month-old fetus was cut from her body. A private funeral will begin in about an hour in Maryville for 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett. A public burial follows in Skidmore.
CNN's Jonathan Freed is in Maryville now with more -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.
That's right. The funeral starts in just under an hour from now. And they're expecting a large crowd here today. And indeed, people are already starting to show up, and they are lining cars up for the procession that's going to follow.
The funeral service happening here in Maryville, Maryland, but the burial is going to take place in the town of Skidmore, which is less than 10 miles away from here, which is where the Stinnett family lives. Now, the burial is going to be open to the public, but the funeral service itself is closed to the media. No cameras are going to be allowed inside this building today.
Now, Stinnett was murder last Thursday and had her baby cut from her womb. Lisa Montgomery is accused in those crimes, and she is next going to appear in court in Kansas City on Thursday. Now, Kyra, there is a lot of emotion still, even just four or five days later, packed into this, coming from all sides, including no less than Montgomery's husband, as well as the local sheriff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN MONTGOMERY, SUSPECT'S HUSBAND: My heart ain't broke just for me and Lisa and her kids. It's them, too. That was a precious baby. I know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF BEN ESPEY, NODAWAY COUNTY MISSOURI: To lose a 23-year- old mother, that's just -- that's the toughest thing in the world. And the only bright spot to this is, is to get that baby back and get the baby healthy. And for that baby being a month premature to be in the shape it is, that's -- that's really the bright spot of this whole thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREED: Now, Kyra, after all this is done, after the burial, we've been told that the community of Skidmore is coming together for the Stinnett family and putting together a reception to which everybody has been invited. The media has been invited, too, only not with cameras. Anybody that wants to show support for the Stinnett family is welcome to come.
We've also spoken to Harold Hammond, who is the Stinnett family pastor. He actually married them. And he is going to be delivering the eulogy today. And he tells CNN that, among other things, he's going to be telling the crowd here today how beautiful Bobbie Jo Stinnett was on her wedding day -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Jonathan Freed, thank you so much -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Suspect Lisa Montgomery is due in federal court once again Thursday in Kansas City, Kansas, after an initial appearance we told you about yesterday. Last night CNN's Larry King learned more about her and the victim from a reporter covering the story and a friend of the suspect's family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": KING: Darrel, when she said it was her baby and you only knew her at six months, wasn't that strange to you?
DARREL SCHULTZE, MONTGOMERY FAMILY FRIEND: Yes. Like I said, I didn't follow the timeline that close. I just know I'd seen her a week before and she didn't look pregnant, and here we had a baby.
Knowing the family and knowing -- not knowing -- I wasn't aware of the Amber Alert or anything. But knowing the family, I had no reason to doubt them. That's why it was such a shock to the community. We feel so bad that, you know, this happened. And knowing the family as we do, it just -- it's just hard to understand for us.
KING: Jim Flink, have you met any of the family members? Have you tried to contact them for reports?
JIM FLINK, KNBC REPORTER: Larry, we did try to contact Zeb Stinnett, which is the father of Victoria Jo. We contacted him, or tried to, about the time that the story had broken that the baby had survived. He has gone to Topeka. So we had talked to some -- some other relatives about how they were doing obviously.
I mean, Larry, you have to realize, this is the third member of this family to be murdered in the last four years. Two cousins were murdered. One in 2000 -- Wendy Gillenwater (ph) was stomped to death by her boyfriend. Then Branson Perry (ph) disappeared two years ago. This is a town of 300 people, and three members much this family have been brutally murdered in the last four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a strike on coalition forces in Mosul. Just ahead, we're going to talk with our military analyst about what that attack means for American strategy in Iraq and the upcoming elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come here out of respect and care. And it gets me every time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: For 60 years, this World War II veteran has been making the journey back to the field of battle to remember fallen comrades and to start a Christmas celebration. His touching story later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: We've been telling you about that bloody rocket attack in Mosul. Two dozen killed, numerous others injured. Many of them U.S. soldiers, some of them contractors, some of them Iraqi soldiers as well.
Amid all of this were some reporters. We've been telling you about the "Richmond Times-Dispatch" embedded with that particular unit. Also near the scene at the time of this rock attack was Bill Nemitz. He is with "Maine Today" newspaper. He's on the line with us now.
Bill, can you hear me OK?
BILL NEMITZ, "PORTLAND PRESS-HERALD": Yes, I can, Miles. Actually, it's "The Portland Press-Herald" in Portland, Maine.
O'BRIEN: My apologies, "Portland Press-Herald." Bill, tell us where you were, what you saw and heard at the time.
NEMITZ: The photographer I'm with and I were in our barracks which is about a little under a quarter of a mile from the dining facility, actually getting ready to go to lunch when the explosion hit. It was clearly something of greater might than the typical mortar rounds that have occasionally come into the base here.
In fact, it lifted me right off my chair from about a quarter of a mile away. Everyone knew instantly that this was something big. They didn't know exactly from where it had come, but we looked up and saw the plume of smoke rising from the dining facility. And as you can imagine, from that point on, bedlam ensued.
O'BRIEN: OK. So you were about a quarter mile away, and you've been in combat situations enough to know the difference between a mortar round and something that would be more akin to a big Howitzer or something to that effect. This might have been larger artillery. In other words, something from much farther away, as well?
NEMITZ: That's correct. We were -- we did speak this evening with Brigadier General Carter Ham, who's the task force commander here for Task Force Olympia. He emphasized to us that the actual device is -- has not yet been determined. It's still under an investigation. Of course there's a lot of speculation about what it might be, whether it was a big mortar, you know, a larger than normal mortar, whether it was a rocket. It could have been any number of things. It could have even -- they're even looking into the possibility that it was something that might have been placed inside the dining facility and it detonated from within.
All of that is, however, totally speculative right now. Nobody knows for sure exactly what it was.
O'BRIEN: All right. So you wouldn't rule out the possibility then that there was something inside that tent, not necessarily some sort of projectile which flew in?
NEMITZ: Well, yes, the general sense, they're not ruling that out. I'm not suggesting that there's evidence that's that what it was. But he said until the forensics people can get in and do the necessary blast analysis to see exactly what happened where, which is typical for this kind of thing, they really can't rule out anything. They don't want to speculate.
O'BRIEN: Tell me what you saw and what you can tell us factually about the injuries and the fatalities. We've been told by the military...
NEMITZ: Well, as I said...
O'BRIEN: Go ahead.
NEMITZ: As I said -- I'm sorry. Can you hear me?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I can hear you fine. You go ahead.
NEMITZ: OK. We kind of made a beeline along with everyone else. A call immediately went out for CLS -- soldiers with CLS training, which is combat life support, to get their helmets and flak jackets and get up there. So this touched off kind of a mad dash up to the dining facility.
When a arrived, maybe, I don't know, five, 10 minutes after the blast, it was just truly remarkable what these soldiers were doing. I mean, I saw -- I saw a triage area immediately take form outside the entrance to the dining facility. I saw soldiers, both Iraqi and Americans, carrying litters out, civilians doing that as well.
You might think at first glance that it was a chaotic scene, but the more you looked at it, the more you could see the order of it. And then kind of a ragtag fleet of vehicles, everything that had wheels, seemed to be rolling into the nearby parking lot. And as quickly as they were arriving, they were loading up litters and taking them either to the medical aid station here at the base, the 133rd Engineer Battalion Medical Station, or for more the more seriously wounded they were taking them across the street to a combat support hospital located right near the base here.
So it was -- it was very hard to watch and it was very chaotic. But at the same time, what amazed me was it seemed for me that within certainly 20 minutes, the worst of the wounded, the ones that really needed the most immediate attention, were all out of there.
And of course there were still some walking wounded making their way down for help. But it was just a remarkable effort by all the soldiers involved. And I think it really showed what all this so- called mass cal or mass casualty training that they go through it all about. From what I could see, they performed flawlessly.
O'BRIEN: Equal doses of training, I think, and a fair amount of heroism as well. Let me ask you this, Bill. We've heard reports that there were complaints that went up the chain of command potentially about this being a soft target, an accident waiting to happen. Had you heard much about that?
NEMITZ: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Could you repeat that?
O'BRIEN: There have been reports we have heard filtering through back here that this particular location, this mess tent, was not hardened and many saw it as a potential accident waiting to happen. Had you heard that?
NEMITZ: Yes, that's correct. This is one of the so-called soft- shell facilities. They look almost like airport hangars.
And I talked to General Ham about that tonight. It's quite evident to anyone visiting the base here that there is a concrete dining facility under construction for obvious reasons. They wanted to prevent -- provide a harder facility for such mass gatherings of people.
The general said, you know, construction being what it is over here in terms of supplies, labor, weather, other security, they had hoped to have that facility open by Christmas. But if you look at it, you can tell it still has a ways to go.
I was here in April, and I did speak to the chief medical officer for the 133rd Engineer Battalion whose charge was to draw up this mass casualty plan specifically for the dining facility. And at the time, it was -- his concern was clear to me that this was considered, you know, a very prime target and something that worried everyone.
So the general made it clear tonight that -- he said it's not like in Pennsylvania, where you can hire all the contractors you want and put a building up overnight. Getting something like that built over here takes some time.
But you're right. I mean, there's been a lot of discussion about these soft-shell buildings and the potential for something like that this happening.
O'BRIEN: A final thought from you here on just the aftermath of all of this. I don't know if you've had an opportunity to talk to many people. Obviously, a very chaotic situation.
What is left as they try to pick up the pieces and tend to the injured? Is there anger, is there resignation? What's the general feeling there right now?
NEMITZ: I think it's just taking some time for all of this to sink in. If you -- if you -- of course, if you are here now and if you walk around the base, you will see clusters of soldiers gathered outside despite the cold temperatures, just kind of talking and processing and, you know, doing their best to cope. And also trying to get whatever information they can about what happened.
Company commanders have, of course, briefed them, but there's still a lot of other information flying around. So I would say very much right now that this is just a camp in shock. And I'm sure it's going to take some time, particularly with the holidays on top of us, for all of this to kind of process its way through. It's a tough time to be here right now.
O'BRIEN: Bill Nemitz is a reporter with the "Portland Press- Herald" embedded with U.S. troops in Mosul. He is about a quarter mile away from that explosion. Thanks very much for your time, Bill. And do...
NEMITZ: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: ... stay safe over there, along with the rest of your crew.
Back with more CNN LIVE FROM in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 21, 2004 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bloodshed in Iraq. American soldiers among the dozens dead or injured. We expect a live statement soon from Fort Lewis, where many of those soldiers were based. We're live in Baghdad as well.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Use it or lose it. Americans losing millions of dollars at the end of the year. Find out what you could do to keep more money in your pocket.
O'BRIEN: This St. Nick used to be an American soldier. Find out why for 60 years a tiny European village says he is the only Santa they want.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
The target was soft, the enemy hard. Hard to find, hard to fight, hard to defeat. Now the death and destruction are severe at Forward Operating Base Marez near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, site of the noontime blast in a mess tent that killed at least 24 U.S. and Iraqi troops and contractors and wounded dozens more.
We get the latest from CNN's Karl Penhaul in Baghdad -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
It was midday local time, hundreds of troops were tucking into well-earned chow. They put their rifles at their sides, they would have taken off their flak jackets. This would have been a well-earned rest to just talk a little with buddies and to eat that well-earned food, and then in comes a rocket or a mortar, we don't know at this stage.
What we do know from U.S. military spokesmen on the ground is at least 24 people have been killed and more than 60 others wounded. The dead a mixture of U.S. soldiers, Iraqi National Guardsmen and U.S. and Iraqi contractors, all of them based at Camp Marez near Mosul. This is what General Carter Ham had to say about the attack.
PHILLIPS: Now we want to take you live to Fort Lewis, Washington. We'll get back to Karl Penhaul in a minute. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Costello talking about that attack on his unit.
LT. COL. BILL COSTELLO, FT. LEWIS PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: ... the number of casualties or whether notification has begun. I do want to extend -- again, we want to extend our condolences. As we saw from the reports this morning, the soldiers of the United States, Fort Lewis-based soldiers, their Iraqi counterparts took action to quickly evacuate those who were wounded and attempt to prevent the further loss of life. That's all I have at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, can you give us your name?
COSTELLO: Sure. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Bill Costello, C-O-S-T- E-L-L-O. I'm the public affairs officer for First Corps.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: Well, obviously these soldiers were members of the -- the soldiers in Mosul, Iraq, are members of Task Force Olympia and the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division here in Fort Lewis. Again, I have no information on how many soldiers were killed or whether they were Fort Lewis-based in part or in total.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you give us an idea of the tenor of the families here? I spoke to some people who said obviously they -- their hearts go out, and they just said information comes down so sporadically in order to keep the morale here up.
COSTELLO: There's obviously great concern. I mean, any time there's a loss of life, whether it's December or whether it's August, people are on edge and they want to know as much information as they can. As we get the informationing from Iraq, we try to pass that onto the appropriate people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colonel, could you characterize their mission? Was this a patrol?
COSTELLO: I cannot. At the time, I cannot. No information as to what the cause of the explosion was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any idea what the soldiers (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: No, I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any information about (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: Well, obviously we're over there to provide stability and support. The operation in Mosul is obviously dangerous.
They replaced soldiers of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division several months ago. Those soldiers from 3-2 are back here now. It's a dangerous operation over there, but we -- they continue to work with their Iraqi counterparts to provide stability and support in the northern region of Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many soldiers from this base are in that area? Do you know?
COSTELLO: A total of about 6,700 -- more than 6,700 Fort Lewis- based soldiers are in Iraq right now. Not all of them are in Mosul, but there are about - there are more than 6,700 in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many are in the total area?
COSTELLO: I do not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say again how long (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: Yes. They replaced the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which was the first Stryker Brigade combat team to deploy from Fort Lewis. And they started deploying in the October time frame, and they're expected to be over there for about a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any information about the base where this attack occurred? How many Fort Lewis soldiers might have been there?
COSTELLO: I do not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can you tell us with regard to this attack? This was a direct hit, very effective. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: I can't. Unfortunately, I can't. I don't know what the cause -- I do not know what the cause of the attack was. And I can't speculate on it. That information will...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
COSTELLO: I don't have any information.
PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Colonel Bill Costello there briefing reporters. Doesn't really have a lot of information, but we can continue to update you with the information that we do have. We did check in there at Fort Lewis, Washington, because the U.S. Army's Task Force Olympia is based in that city.
Let's bring our Karl Penhaul back with us out of Baghdad.
Obviously, you seem to be reporting a lot more from where you are, Karl. So maybe you can tell our viewers a little bit more about Task Force Olympia and the mission of these soldiers that are based there in Mosul, the specific area that was hit today.
PENHAUL: Certainly, and I think certainly what we can see from that press conference out of Fort Lewis, just how hard the military are trying to work to piece together exactly what happened in this attack that occurred now 10 hours ago. But you can still see that the U.S. military is reeling from this. There are a lot of casualties they have to tend to first, and then they'll get down to the business of figuring out exactly who has died, and then go through this painful process of letting the families know.
But Task Force Olympia, which is based up and around Mosul, over the last few weeks has had a busy time. Because when that offensive kicked off in the western city of Falluja, then also attacks did spike in and around the city of Mosul. Now, U.S. military commanders have a number of theories about this. They said that some of the insurgents formerly based in Falluja may have melted away and drifted up to Mosul to start attacks there. Other military commanders suggested these were classic rear guard attacks by insurgents normally based in Mosul to try and deflect and deviate some of the coalition firepower from Falluja.
There's also been speculation of late that part of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi network has also based itself in Mosul, and that's the reason why we've seen stepped-up attacks here. But the insurgents had specifically been targeting police stations there at one point. A lot of the police did in fact lay down their weapons and leave their posts because of the insurgent pressure. There was speculation that the insurgents had in fact managed to infiltrate completely the police officers there, and that's why Iraqi security forces couldn't stand up and fight for themselves.
So the U.S. -- the military authorities did launch an offensive there. But this really goes to the heart of what guerilla war is about.
Just as you think that the threat has died down, then an attack like this happens. Not clear yet whether this was a mortar or a rocket. But depending on the caliber of the weapon that was used, this artillery round could have been fired from as much as 15 or 16 miles away. And that does make it very difficult to deter these kind of threats altogether.
Add to that that the dining facilities both in this base and across many of the other bases that we visited in Iraq are soft- skinned buildings. They may be canvas, as it appears to have been in this case, or they may be of thin metal structures. But certainly not hardened bomb, missile-proof shelters. And it is one of the few times of day that soldiers are allowed to gather en masse.
And they do drop their guard. It's normal. It's mealtime.
They'll take off their flak jackets, they'll lay down their rifles, they'll engage in conversation with other comrades. Their guard is down. And so when a missile like this comes in, as we've seen from those photos from the "Richmond Times-Dispatch," chaos ensues.
In fact, along with the photographer that took those photos, there was also a pool reporter or a press reporter from the "Richmond Times-Dispatch," and he's drived how some of the soldiers loaded their buddies on to upturned dining tables to carry them away, using those as makeshift stretchers to take them off to the medics. Very harrowing scenes we've seen from those photographs. It also seems that part of the canvas tent turned into a fireball with this explosion -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul on the story there from Baghdad. Thank you so much -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: For months now, the Bush administration has publicly warned of a surge in violence leading up to next month's elections. And just today, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on a surprise visit to Baghdad, lamented what he called a wicked attempt to thwart democracy.
Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux live now at the White House.
Hello, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Well, within the hour or so, President Bush is going to be visiting Walter Reed Medical ---- Army Medical Center. That is where he's going to be visiting with wounded soldiers to show his support. It is a place called Fisher House, where the relatives gather to show their support for their loved ones while they recover from their injuries.
Now, the White House, of course, the president, keeping a very close eye in getting updates on the situation in Mosul. A senior administration official saying it is a very serious situation but it is not unexpected.
Part of the White House strategy now, of course, and has been, is to convince the American people that, yes, as we get closer to the Iraq democratic elections late January, things are going to become more difficult, more dangerous and more challenging on the ground. President Bush trying to prepare the American people for that reality. At the same time, a very delicate balancing act, of course, to express a sense of remorse and yet optimism that ultimately this Iraq-U.S. mission will work.
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SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president mourns the loss of life and prays for the feems of those who were killed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The terrorists and Saddam loyalists are desperately seeking to derail the transition to democracy and freedom in Iraq. The enemies of freedom understand the stakes involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And despite those difficulties and challenges, it was yesterday President Bush in his year-end press conference came out very clearly in support of his embattled secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, saying that he is a good man. He believes that he is up for the task.
Senior administration officials I spoke with saying that his job is not in jeopardy, that this is someone who is putting this first and foremost ahead of everything else, and that he is also, what he said, is under the hood, if you will, of this issue. Only second to President Bush, wants this simply to work.
But President Bush also yesterday, Miles, acknowledging that there are some difficulties. He acknowledged that it will become more dangerous, also that it is important that they have the proper equipment, they have the proper armor, and that even those Iraqi soldiers that U.S. has been so invested in training perhaps not up to the task now, but he believes in the months to come, certainly expects in the months to come, that things will change -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Loved ones are gathering to mourn a Missouri woman police say was strangled before her 8-month-old fetus was cut from her body. A private funeral will begin in about an hour in Maryville for 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett. A public burial follows in Skidmore.
CNN's Jonathan Freed is in Maryville now with more -- Jonathan.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.
That's right. The funeral starts in just under an hour from now. And they're expecting a large crowd here today. And indeed, people are already starting to show up, and they are lining cars up for the procession that's going to follow.
The funeral service happening here in Maryville, Maryland, but the burial is going to take place in the town of Skidmore, which is less than 10 miles away from here, which is where the Stinnett family lives. Now, the burial is going to be open to the public, but the funeral service itself is closed to the media. No cameras are going to be allowed inside this building today.
Now, Stinnett was murder last Thursday and had her baby cut from her womb. Lisa Montgomery is accused in those crimes, and she is next going to appear in court in Kansas City on Thursday. Now, Kyra, there is a lot of emotion still, even just four or five days later, packed into this, coming from all sides, including no less than Montgomery's husband, as well as the local sheriff.
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KEVIN MONTGOMERY, SUSPECT'S HUSBAND: My heart ain't broke just for me and Lisa and her kids. It's them, too. That was a precious baby. I know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF BEN ESPEY, NODAWAY COUNTY MISSOURI: To lose a 23-year- old mother, that's just -- that's the toughest thing in the world. And the only bright spot to this is, is to get that baby back and get the baby healthy. And for that baby being a month premature to be in the shape it is, that's -- that's really the bright spot of this whole thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREED: Now, Kyra, after all this is done, after the burial, we've been told that the community of Skidmore is coming together for the Stinnett family and putting together a reception to which everybody has been invited. The media has been invited, too, only not with cameras. Anybody that wants to show support for the Stinnett family is welcome to come.
We've also spoken to Harold Hammond, who is the Stinnett family pastor. He actually married them. And he is going to be delivering the eulogy today. And he tells CNN that, among other things, he's going to be telling the crowd here today how beautiful Bobbie Jo Stinnett was on her wedding day -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Jonathan Freed, thank you so much -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Suspect Lisa Montgomery is due in federal court once again Thursday in Kansas City, Kansas, after an initial appearance we told you about yesterday. Last night CNN's Larry King learned more about her and the victim from a reporter covering the story and a friend of the suspect's family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": KING: Darrel, when she said it was her baby and you only knew her at six months, wasn't that strange to you?
DARREL SCHULTZE, MONTGOMERY FAMILY FRIEND: Yes. Like I said, I didn't follow the timeline that close. I just know I'd seen her a week before and she didn't look pregnant, and here we had a baby.
Knowing the family and knowing -- not knowing -- I wasn't aware of the Amber Alert or anything. But knowing the family, I had no reason to doubt them. That's why it was such a shock to the community. We feel so bad that, you know, this happened. And knowing the family as we do, it just -- it's just hard to understand for us.
KING: Jim Flink, have you met any of the family members? Have you tried to contact them for reports?
JIM FLINK, KNBC REPORTER: Larry, we did try to contact Zeb Stinnett, which is the father of Victoria Jo. We contacted him, or tried to, about the time that the story had broken that the baby had survived. He has gone to Topeka. So we had talked to some -- some other relatives about how they were doing obviously.
I mean, Larry, you have to realize, this is the third member of this family to be murdered in the last four years. Two cousins were murdered. One in 2000 -- Wendy Gillenwater (ph) was stomped to death by her boyfriend. Then Branson Perry (ph) disappeared two years ago. This is a town of 300 people, and three members much this family have been brutally murdered in the last four years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a strike on coalition forces in Mosul. Just ahead, we're going to talk with our military analyst about what that attack means for American strategy in Iraq and the upcoming elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come here out of respect and care. And it gets me every time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: For 60 years, this World War II veteran has been making the journey back to the field of battle to remember fallen comrades and to start a Christmas celebration. His touching story later this hour.
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O'BRIEN: We've been telling you about that bloody rocket attack in Mosul. Two dozen killed, numerous others injured. Many of them U.S. soldiers, some of them contractors, some of them Iraqi soldiers as well.
Amid all of this were some reporters. We've been telling you about the "Richmond Times-Dispatch" embedded with that particular unit. Also near the scene at the time of this rock attack was Bill Nemitz. He is with "Maine Today" newspaper. He's on the line with us now.
Bill, can you hear me OK?
BILL NEMITZ, "PORTLAND PRESS-HERALD": Yes, I can, Miles. Actually, it's "The Portland Press-Herald" in Portland, Maine.
O'BRIEN: My apologies, "Portland Press-Herald." Bill, tell us where you were, what you saw and heard at the time.
NEMITZ: The photographer I'm with and I were in our barracks which is about a little under a quarter of a mile from the dining facility, actually getting ready to go to lunch when the explosion hit. It was clearly something of greater might than the typical mortar rounds that have occasionally come into the base here.
In fact, it lifted me right off my chair from about a quarter of a mile away. Everyone knew instantly that this was something big. They didn't know exactly from where it had come, but we looked up and saw the plume of smoke rising from the dining facility. And as you can imagine, from that point on, bedlam ensued.
O'BRIEN: OK. So you were about a quarter mile away, and you've been in combat situations enough to know the difference between a mortar round and something that would be more akin to a big Howitzer or something to that effect. This might have been larger artillery. In other words, something from much farther away, as well?
NEMITZ: That's correct. We were -- we did speak this evening with Brigadier General Carter Ham, who's the task force commander here for Task Force Olympia. He emphasized to us that the actual device is -- has not yet been determined. It's still under an investigation. Of course there's a lot of speculation about what it might be, whether it was a big mortar, you know, a larger than normal mortar, whether it was a rocket. It could have been any number of things. It could have even -- they're even looking into the possibility that it was something that might have been placed inside the dining facility and it detonated from within.
All of that is, however, totally speculative right now. Nobody knows for sure exactly what it was.
O'BRIEN: All right. So you wouldn't rule out the possibility then that there was something inside that tent, not necessarily some sort of projectile which flew in?
NEMITZ: Well, yes, the general sense, they're not ruling that out. I'm not suggesting that there's evidence that's that what it was. But he said until the forensics people can get in and do the necessary blast analysis to see exactly what happened where, which is typical for this kind of thing, they really can't rule out anything. They don't want to speculate.
O'BRIEN: Tell me what you saw and what you can tell us factually about the injuries and the fatalities. We've been told by the military...
NEMITZ: Well, as I said...
O'BRIEN: Go ahead.
NEMITZ: As I said -- I'm sorry. Can you hear me?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I can hear you fine. You go ahead.
NEMITZ: OK. We kind of made a beeline along with everyone else. A call immediately went out for CLS -- soldiers with CLS training, which is combat life support, to get their helmets and flak jackets and get up there. So this touched off kind of a mad dash up to the dining facility.
When a arrived, maybe, I don't know, five, 10 minutes after the blast, it was just truly remarkable what these soldiers were doing. I mean, I saw -- I saw a triage area immediately take form outside the entrance to the dining facility. I saw soldiers, both Iraqi and Americans, carrying litters out, civilians doing that as well.
You might think at first glance that it was a chaotic scene, but the more you looked at it, the more you could see the order of it. And then kind of a ragtag fleet of vehicles, everything that had wheels, seemed to be rolling into the nearby parking lot. And as quickly as they were arriving, they were loading up litters and taking them either to the medical aid station here at the base, the 133rd Engineer Battalion Medical Station, or for more the more seriously wounded they were taking them across the street to a combat support hospital located right near the base here.
So it was -- it was very hard to watch and it was very chaotic. But at the same time, what amazed me was it seemed for me that within certainly 20 minutes, the worst of the wounded, the ones that really needed the most immediate attention, were all out of there.
And of course there were still some walking wounded making their way down for help. But it was just a remarkable effort by all the soldiers involved. And I think it really showed what all this so- called mass cal or mass casualty training that they go through it all about. From what I could see, they performed flawlessly.
O'BRIEN: Equal doses of training, I think, and a fair amount of heroism as well. Let me ask you this, Bill. We've heard reports that there were complaints that went up the chain of command potentially about this being a soft target, an accident waiting to happen. Had you heard much about that?
NEMITZ: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Could you repeat that?
O'BRIEN: There have been reports we have heard filtering through back here that this particular location, this mess tent, was not hardened and many saw it as a potential accident waiting to happen. Had you heard that?
NEMITZ: Yes, that's correct. This is one of the so-called soft- shell facilities. They look almost like airport hangars.
And I talked to General Ham about that tonight. It's quite evident to anyone visiting the base here that there is a concrete dining facility under construction for obvious reasons. They wanted to prevent -- provide a harder facility for such mass gatherings of people.
The general said, you know, construction being what it is over here in terms of supplies, labor, weather, other security, they had hoped to have that facility open by Christmas. But if you look at it, you can tell it still has a ways to go.
I was here in April, and I did speak to the chief medical officer for the 133rd Engineer Battalion whose charge was to draw up this mass casualty plan specifically for the dining facility. And at the time, it was -- his concern was clear to me that this was considered, you know, a very prime target and something that worried everyone.
So the general made it clear tonight that -- he said it's not like in Pennsylvania, where you can hire all the contractors you want and put a building up overnight. Getting something like that built over here takes some time.
But you're right. I mean, there's been a lot of discussion about these soft-shell buildings and the potential for something like that this happening.
O'BRIEN: A final thought from you here on just the aftermath of all of this. I don't know if you've had an opportunity to talk to many people. Obviously, a very chaotic situation.
What is left as they try to pick up the pieces and tend to the injured? Is there anger, is there resignation? What's the general feeling there right now?
NEMITZ: I think it's just taking some time for all of this to sink in. If you -- if you -- of course, if you are here now and if you walk around the base, you will see clusters of soldiers gathered outside despite the cold temperatures, just kind of talking and processing and, you know, doing their best to cope. And also trying to get whatever information they can about what happened.
Company commanders have, of course, briefed them, but there's still a lot of other information flying around. So I would say very much right now that this is just a camp in shock. And I'm sure it's going to take some time, particularly with the holidays on top of us, for all of this to kind of process its way through. It's a tough time to be here right now.
O'BRIEN: Bill Nemitz is a reporter with the "Portland Press- Herald" embedded with U.S. troops in Mosul. He is about a quarter mile away from that explosion. Thanks very much for your time, Bill. And do...
NEMITZ: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: ... stay safe over there, along with the rest of your crew.
Back with more CNN LIVE FROM in just a moment.
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