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Group Claims Mess Tent Explosion was Suicide Attack; Wounded from Tent Attack Flown to German Hospital; Families Wait for Word on Survivors

Aired December 22, 2004 - 13:00   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, CO-HOST: What really happened? The latest developments on the Mosul attack investigation. The new situation at Camp Marez, and what's next for the survivors?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: The militant group claiming responsibility for the attack has been busy in Iraq. We'll get a closer look at it this hour.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kimberly Osias, live in Fort Lewis, Washington, where Christmas is taking on a different tenor, as families watch and wait.

PHILLIPS: And "CNN Security Watch": airport screeners feel the heat after some passengers ask, show me the law that says you can do this.

O'BRIEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. It is Wednesday, December 22.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

We begin this hour in the grisly aftermath of the mess tent attack in Mosul, the single deadliest for U.S. troops in more than a year. The remains of 13 soldiers killed in yesterday's noontime explosion are en route home, while dozens of wounded are getting settled in at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. More on that in just a moment.

Now in Mosul, the FBI is investigating what a militant group says was a suicide bombing.

CNN's Karl Penhaul picks up the story from his post in Baghdad -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

That team of FBI experts has been on the ground there in Camp Marez now for the last 17 hours, hard at work in the dining hall, trying to piece together the final moments before this explosion occurred.

We've been talking throughout the day to Lieutenant Colonel Hastings. He's the spokesman for the U.S. Military's Task Force Olympia there. He's saying at the moment it's too early to specifically say what caused the blast. He said initial theories had been it could be a rocket. It could be a mortar, or it could be what he termed a plastic explosive. That, in effect, means that somebody may have walked into that dining hall with an explosive at a peak mealtime and then detonated that bomb.

He says, significantly, among the remains left by the explosion, there is a series of absolutely symmetrical perforations in some in the stainless steel dining equipment, and that would indicated the presence of some kind of ball bearings, or B.B.'s, within that explosive charge.

He says, though, that possibly by the end of tonight there should be some preliminary answers about what caused the explosion.

We have, of course, seen claims of responsibility on an Islamic web site by Ansar al-Sunnah. In that they claimed that this was what they call a martyrdom -- martyrdom operation, effectively a suicide bombing.

And in the past, we have seen training videos from this group. And we do see in that training video, the presence of people who claim they are potential suicide bombers, sending their last messages.

We also do know this group from the past. They have carried out a string of deadly attacks across Iraq since September of last year -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Karl, if, indeed this ends up being an inside job, the FBI, other investigators on the scene, are they checking all identification and paperwork those that are on that base besides U.S. soldiers?

PENHAUL: Indeed, this is something -- once they come out with that preliminary result of what caused the explosion, then that will undoubtedly trigger a whole series of extra questions that they will then have to answer and investigate.

And obviously, if this is proved to have been an inside job by a suicide bomber, then the investigators will have to go back and figure out who the bomber actually was, and how he gained access to the base, and whether, in fact, this is one of the Iraqi contractors or even possibly one of the members of the Iraqi security forces who have been using this base for many weeks or possibly even months, Kyra.

And finally, Karl, I'm assuming that no one is being allowed to leave that base at this time?

PENHAUL: Very difficult to say exactly what the situation on the base is. We do know, though, that throughout Mosul in the course of the day there have been military operations there, military operations aimed at trying to close down much of the city to aid in the hunt for suspects, to aid in the hunt for parts of the insurgent group that has claimed responsibility for this attack.

And this also obviously comes on top of the long offensive that the U.S. military has been waging there. That offensive got under way more or less at the same time as the Falluja offensive got under way, at the start of November, precisely because insurgents seized the opportunity to bomb police stations and run riot across much of Mosul, while a lot of the attention have been focusing on Falluja -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul live from Baghdad, thanks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Now to Ramstein Air Base, where CNN's live cameras brought us the slow and steady procession of wounded G.I.'s off a transport plane in the blowing snow there.

CNN's Matthew Chance is there with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the biting cold of southern Germany, we've been witnessing the painstaking transfer of between 40 and 50 of the injured from this devastating Mosul attack, from the aircraft behind me, onto ambulances and onward to the massive U.S. Army medical facility at Landstuhl here in southern Germany.

Many of the injured were taken off in stretchers. In fact, only 15 of them, we're told, were actually able to walk unassisted. The rest were carried off by stretchers.

Eight of those injured said to be in extremely critical condition, which means their injuries are so serious that they may, indeed, be life-threatening if they don't get the specialist medical attention that the medical teams at the Landstuhl hospital are able to give them.

It's been a bit of a struggle from the point of view of the Landstuhl hospital, because this was a particularly slow period in what's been a very sort of busy few months from Iraq. It's obviously the holiday period. There were no battles under way in Iraq. There were no offensives being planned. And so these influx of casualties were somewhat unexpected.

As a result, they had to call back many of their staff that they had allowed to go on holiday leave, back from their families, to make sure the right medical teams, the right doctors, the right nurse, the right support staff were there, to give these soldiers the kind of medical attention that they will need to make a full recovery.

They will be getting that intensive care now. It may take only a few days for some of them to be back on their feet and able to be flown back to the United States. But for other, particularly those in critical condition, it may take a good deal longer than that, before they can return home.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Ramstein Air Base, southern Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Of utmost interest to investigators in Mosul are the myriad tiny round pockmarks in the stainless steel kitchen gear.

CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks is following the forensics for us. He joins us this hour from Minneapolis.

Mike, in June of '96, you were among the first to respond on the U.S. team to Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia, site of a bombing there that killed 19 U.S. airmen. So I know you know what the process is. Why don't you just walk us through kind of the forensic steps that the investigators will go through here?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Miles, in this particular bombing, the -- there's a group, a -- what we've never seen before -- actually, in a war zone. It's called the Combined Explosive Exploitation Cell. It's made up of military personnel and civilian law enforcement here from the United States, the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

And what they're doing, when they get there, they start looking to see what kind of device was used. Now they're looking right now at either -- to see whether it was a mortar, a rocket, whether it was a placed device or a suicide bomb.

Now, if it was a suicide or placed device, we're hearing from Matthew Penhaul (sic) in his reporting earlier that there are perfectly round symmetrical holes, possibly from ball bearings or B.B.'s. That would indicate someone actually placed it or a suicide bomb.

Now, if it were a rocket or mortar, you would have thin and different kind of shrapnel. So they should be able to tell fairly early on in the investigation what kind of device was actually used.

O'BRIEN: Mike, as you talk -- you may not be able to see it -- there's that picture, which I know you have seen, showing the top of the tent and the way it appears, at least, to a layperson, that the explosion kind of went upward or came from -- you know, the top of the tent inward.

In either case, the explosion in that direction. Can we read that much into it, or is there -- is there yet -- you have to be on the scene to understand that better?

BROOKS: You have to actually be on the scene to kind of understand that, because if it were, in fact, a mortar or rocket, you still would have some kind of shrapnel go off of that and possibly tear a hole in the top of the tent.

But also, investigators there could be able to take some kind of swabbing to tell what kind of explosive was used. And even if it were an IED, that was -- that used conventional explosives, at least they'd be able to narrow it down a little bit better.

But what they do after that, Miles, they take all of these pieces of evidence, and they send it back to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia. It's called the Terrorism Explosive Devices Analytical Center.

And what they do there, they try to make a link on all of the other devices that they've come across from insurgents, from raids that they've been doing along the way. Because even when they're not investigating -- investigating these bombings, they're out there, kicking doors in, gathering intelligence. They take anything they have, send it back to see if there is a link to the groups that are making these claims.

O'BRIEN: Final thought here, the fact that the military has not said it appears this was a rocket, to me is telling. Because typically, incoming, as it were, is something that you can hear. It has a very distinct sound to it. And we haven't heard those sorts of reports from people who were there.

BROOKS: No, we have not heard those kind of reports. And you would probably be able to tell if it were a rocket or a mortar coming in, where on the other side if someone did walk in with a bomb strapped to them or there was one placed there, they wouldn't be able to know that. I mean, it would just be a total surprise.

And the other thing, they may not be telling us exactly what happened, because if it were, in fact, a security breach of either a suicide bomber or someone placing a bomb there, they want to make sure that they have plugged those holes before they come out and say exactly what it was, to make sure they're not vulnerable to that kind of attack again.

O'BRIEN: One way or another if it was, in fact, an inside job, that raises all kinds of issues for force protection and how you vet the Iraqi nationals that you have to work with, one way or another, whether they're in the Iraqi Army or they're contractors of some kind. It's a very difficult problem, isn't it?

BROOKS: It's extremely difficult. You can only do so much background checks on the people that live there. And you know, we have seen this happen in the past. And, again, as you say, it's very, very hard to vet that, because where do you have to work with?

Here in the United States, we do a background check on someone. We go back and check their criminal record. There in Iraq, it's very, very difficult to do this kind of vetting and, you know, sometimes things do slip through the cracks.

O'BRIEN: And one final thought here, another final thought -- suffice to say, there is enough forensic evidence there to give them a pretty strong indication as to what happened, do you think?

BROOKS: There should be early on. Even before the FBI team was there -- they've been on the ground for 17 hours. But even prior to that, you had the military explosive ordnance disposal teams that are assigned there in Mosul. They should have been able to do a preliminary inquiry and look, and take a look at the evidence and know exactly, or at least have a pretty good idea of exactly what happened.

O'BRIEN: Mike Brooks in Minneapolis today, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

BROOKS: Good to be with you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Only yesterday an Army lieutenant based in Virginia was quoted in his hometown newspaper as saying his unit was lucky. It hadn't lost anybody in the months they'd been in Iraq.

Lieutenant Sean Otto's engineering battalion was and is deployed at Camp Marez, where at lunchtime yesterday their luck ran out. Otto wasn't hurt and just as importantly, he was able to tell his wife as much in a quick phone call to Richmond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISH OTTO, WIFE OF G.I. IN MOSUL: When I got the phone call this morning, he said, "Honey, I just want you to know that I'm OK and that I love you and I'm fine. Everything's OK, but something bad has happened."

I know deep inside it's breaking his heart, because he loves his soldiers. He'd do anything -- he'd give his life for any of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And besides Richmond, the several thousand U.S. troops in Mosul hail from Augusta, Maine, and Fort Lewis, Washington, home of the 4,000-member Stryker Brigade. Even now, many Fort Lewis families are waiting to hear about their fathers and brothers and sons and daughters and wives and sisters.

CNN's Kimberly Osias has more now from the home front -- Kim.

OSIAS: Hello, Kyra.

Well, as you can well imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for the family members that are now watching and waiting. Certainly, heightened because of the holiday season and in light of Christmas.

I spoke to many people who said, quite frankly, the joy has been taken out and replaced by incredible heightened nerves.

And it is not just the families that are waiting, the families of these soldiers. It is other soldiers, as well. And a community, a community that has really wrapped their arms around these soldiers.

In fact, since Operation Iraqi Freedom started 20 months ago when the war broke out, a bridge that is very, very close to where we are standing over the Interstate 5 area, a major north-south artery here, has sported yellow ribbons. In fact, fresh ones have been flying in the wind since yesterday. In fact a number of supporters have taken to that area over the bridge and stood waving flags.

One postal service worker took the day off to show solidarity with these families, really doing anything that they could.

Yesterday, I spoke to some soldiers who said, really, their heart has gone out. And whenever they were with the Strykers -- I spoke to one lucky soldier who came back, who said whenever he was with the Strykers, he knew he was safe because they had his back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CESAR CONTRERAS, U.S. ARMY: Just knowing that there was one or two Strykers in our convoy it felt -- we felt a lot more secure, knowing that they were there with us. And it was a -- it was better than just having one or two gun trucks with us on the convoy. It was really, really helpful knowing that they were there, because they really took care of us out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: The Stryker unit has been in Iraq since October of 2003. The second group has gone in to augment in Mosul, in the northern city, just two months ago.

And, again, we do not know numbers yet, nor do we know names. We will not have that information until 24 hours after the last family member has been notified. That will, of course, be a very difficult task, given the fact that many are off base, already planning for Christmas -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kimberly Osias, from Fort Lewis, Washington. Thank you so much.

And we just got this news in out of Portland, Maine. Actually, the Governor of Maine has decided to release the names of two members of the state National Guard who were killed in Iraq.

Those victims of yesterday's attack on that mess tent in Mosul were identified as 47-year-old Sergeant Lynn Robert Poulin of Freedom and 20-year-old specialist Thomas John Dostie of Somerville. These Mainers were part of the 133rd Engineer Battalion.

In addition to those two that were killed, another 10 members of the unit were injured. Once again, we're talking about one of the deadliest attacks on American troops so far, since the war began -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, they say they did it. We'll get a closer look at the group that claims responsibility for the Camp Marez attack.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. To some, it's a winter wonderland; to others, it's a travel nightmare. The latest on a powerful winter storm hitting the Ohio Valley and affecting everyone from Texas to Teeterboro, coming up.

O'BRIEN: And Jacqui's missing the weather center right about now, I think.

Airport outrage. A more than thorough search irks. But what really sends some frequent flyers into orbit, you may ask. Well, the TSA's the reason why. We have your "Security Watch" coming up for you in just a moment. Stay with us.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, like it or not, folks in the Midwest are getting socked by a major snowstorm. One of the hardest hit cities, Evansville, Indiana.

Jacqui Jeras, depending on your perspective, either got the short straw today, or if you're a weather person such as she, and -- you want to be there, right? Is that right?

JERAS: I do want to be here, yes.

O'BRIEN: Well you look...

JERAS: I like it. I love the snow.

O'BRIEN: You look good in winter togs and it's good to see you outside, being a part of the weather you're always talking about. I assume you found some happy school kids who are out of school this week and enjoying this weather a little bit, huh?

JERAS: Well, we're actually at a truck stop right now, Miles. And most of the kids we've seen here...

O'BRIEN: No school kids there -- hopefully, you're not seeing kids there at the truck stop.

JERAS: I've seen a couple of kids and they're actually rather weary. In fact, I did have a family here that actually went inside and bought a DVD player so they could entertain the kids because they've decided to just forget about it and give the kid something to do while they wait out the storm.

The parents also not very happy. And very travel-weary.

And a lot of truckers have also decided to not go. In fact, earlier this morning, about five semis which were jack-knifed up U.S. 41 here because of the very slick conditions.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: It's hard to think about warm weather and tornadoes when I'm standing in the middle of this.

O'BRIEN: Yes, Jacqui. Hey, how's the coffee at the truck stop?

JERAS: You know, it's not bad. I've actually had a little this morning but I've been enjoying the warm tea, actually.

O'BRIEN: Warm tea, yes. I wouldn't go in there, though, to the truck stop and ask for a skinny decaf soy latte. They don't go for that there.

JERAS: Yes. Yes, in fact, I couldn't even find some flavored creamer. O'BRIEN: They'd sort of guess you're not a trucker. All right, Jacqui Jeras, at the truck stop, thanks very much. Going to a break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, new details on the group that claims to have committed the deadly attack in Mosul.

And later, is the latest wonder drug curing what ails you or compromising your health? What our guest has to say about medicine today that could make you sick.

Tomorrow, an unsure future. We'll take you back to the Iranian town of Bam, still struggling a year after the devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Software giant Microsoft has suffered a major legal setback. David Haffenreffer joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with the details.

(STOCK REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, I'm ask this, as you can see, right underneath you, "Harry's Magic." Well there, now we're seeing "Edging Higher." We'll swap that again.

This is just for Miles. The Harry Potter book, already a best seller?

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we talked to Miles about this yesterday. These...

O'BRIEN: What's the title? What's the title on it? "Harry Potter and the..."

HAFFENREFFER: "Half-Blood Prince."

O'BRIEN: Is it true he comes out of the closet, Harry does, in this one?

PHILLIPS: What? You are...

O'BRIEN: Starting a rumor.

PHILLIPS: You are awful. David, I'm sorry.

O'BRIEN: It's all right.

PHILLIPS: David's speechless.

HAFFENREFFER: It's a plot line not worth revealing at this point. They don't want to spoil the sales.

O'BRIEN: Millions of children now crest fallen. HAFFENREFFER: There are many fans out there, as you know, Miles. And they're all flocking now to the web to get a new copy of this book, which doesn't come out until the summer.

But "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is already ranked No. 1 among books on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, all this, of course, coming just a day after author J.K. Rowling, announced the book's July 16 release date.

Both web sites are taking advance orders for the book at $17.99 a copy. That's a 40 percent discount. And guaranteeing arrival on or just after the release date.

And what is the latest for you from Wall Street. Coming up, first they got rid of late fees. And now it's cutting prices. I'll tell you what Blockbuster is doing to stay ahead of the competition and to get your business.

Stay tuned. LIVE FROM is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 22, 2004 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: What really happened? The latest developments on the Mosul attack investigation. The new situation at Camp Marez, and what's next for the survivors?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: The militant group claiming responsibility for the attack has been busy in Iraq. We'll get a closer look at it this hour.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kimberly Osias, live in Fort Lewis, Washington, where Christmas is taking on a different tenor, as families watch and wait.

PHILLIPS: And "CNN Security Watch": airport screeners feel the heat after some passengers ask, show me the law that says you can do this.

O'BRIEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. It is Wednesday, December 22.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

We begin this hour in the grisly aftermath of the mess tent attack in Mosul, the single deadliest for U.S. troops in more than a year. The remains of 13 soldiers killed in yesterday's noontime explosion are en route home, while dozens of wounded are getting settled in at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. More on that in just a moment.

Now in Mosul, the FBI is investigating what a militant group says was a suicide bombing.

CNN's Karl Penhaul picks up the story from his post in Baghdad -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.

That team of FBI experts has been on the ground there in Camp Marez now for the last 17 hours, hard at work in the dining hall, trying to piece together the final moments before this explosion occurred.

We've been talking throughout the day to Lieutenant Colonel Hastings. He's the spokesman for the U.S. Military's Task Force Olympia there. He's saying at the moment it's too early to specifically say what caused the blast. He said initial theories had been it could be a rocket. It could be a mortar, or it could be what he termed a plastic explosive. That, in effect, means that somebody may have walked into that dining hall with an explosive at a peak mealtime and then detonated that bomb.

He says, significantly, among the remains left by the explosion, there is a series of absolutely symmetrical perforations in some in the stainless steel dining equipment, and that would indicated the presence of some kind of ball bearings, or B.B.'s, within that explosive charge.

He says, though, that possibly by the end of tonight there should be some preliminary answers about what caused the explosion.

We have, of course, seen claims of responsibility on an Islamic web site by Ansar al-Sunnah. In that they claimed that this was what they call a martyrdom -- martyrdom operation, effectively a suicide bombing.

And in the past, we have seen training videos from this group. And we do see in that training video, the presence of people who claim they are potential suicide bombers, sending their last messages.

We also do know this group from the past. They have carried out a string of deadly attacks across Iraq since September of last year -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Karl, if, indeed this ends up being an inside job, the FBI, other investigators on the scene, are they checking all identification and paperwork those that are on that base besides U.S. soldiers?

PENHAUL: Indeed, this is something -- once they come out with that preliminary result of what caused the explosion, then that will undoubtedly trigger a whole series of extra questions that they will then have to answer and investigate.

And obviously, if this is proved to have been an inside job by a suicide bomber, then the investigators will have to go back and figure out who the bomber actually was, and how he gained access to the base, and whether, in fact, this is one of the Iraqi contractors or even possibly one of the members of the Iraqi security forces who have been using this base for many weeks or possibly even months, Kyra.

And finally, Karl, I'm assuming that no one is being allowed to leave that base at this time?

PENHAUL: Very difficult to say exactly what the situation on the base is. We do know, though, that throughout Mosul in the course of the day there have been military operations there, military operations aimed at trying to close down much of the city to aid in the hunt for suspects, to aid in the hunt for parts of the insurgent group that has claimed responsibility for this attack.

And this also obviously comes on top of the long offensive that the U.S. military has been waging there. That offensive got under way more or less at the same time as the Falluja offensive got under way, at the start of November, precisely because insurgents seized the opportunity to bomb police stations and run riot across much of Mosul, while a lot of the attention have been focusing on Falluja -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul live from Baghdad, thanks -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Now to Ramstein Air Base, where CNN's live cameras brought us the slow and steady procession of wounded G.I.'s off a transport plane in the blowing snow there.

CNN's Matthew Chance is there with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the biting cold of southern Germany, we've been witnessing the painstaking transfer of between 40 and 50 of the injured from this devastating Mosul attack, from the aircraft behind me, onto ambulances and onward to the massive U.S. Army medical facility at Landstuhl here in southern Germany.

Many of the injured were taken off in stretchers. In fact, only 15 of them, we're told, were actually able to walk unassisted. The rest were carried off by stretchers.

Eight of those injured said to be in extremely critical condition, which means their injuries are so serious that they may, indeed, be life-threatening if they don't get the specialist medical attention that the medical teams at the Landstuhl hospital are able to give them.

It's been a bit of a struggle from the point of view of the Landstuhl hospital, because this was a particularly slow period in what's been a very sort of busy few months from Iraq. It's obviously the holiday period. There were no battles under way in Iraq. There were no offensives being planned. And so these influx of casualties were somewhat unexpected.

As a result, they had to call back many of their staff that they had allowed to go on holiday leave, back from their families, to make sure the right medical teams, the right doctors, the right nurse, the right support staff were there, to give these soldiers the kind of medical attention that they will need to make a full recovery.

They will be getting that intensive care now. It may take only a few days for some of them to be back on their feet and able to be flown back to the United States. But for other, particularly those in critical condition, it may take a good deal longer than that, before they can return home.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Ramstein Air Base, southern Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Of utmost interest to investigators in Mosul are the myriad tiny round pockmarks in the stainless steel kitchen gear.

CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks is following the forensics for us. He joins us this hour from Minneapolis.

Mike, in June of '96, you were among the first to respond on the U.S. team to Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia, site of a bombing there that killed 19 U.S. airmen. So I know you know what the process is. Why don't you just walk us through kind of the forensic steps that the investigators will go through here?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Miles, in this particular bombing, the -- there's a group, a -- what we've never seen before -- actually, in a war zone. It's called the Combined Explosive Exploitation Cell. It's made up of military personnel and civilian law enforcement here from the United States, the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

And what they're doing, when they get there, they start looking to see what kind of device was used. Now they're looking right now at either -- to see whether it was a mortar, a rocket, whether it was a placed device or a suicide bomb.

Now, if it was a suicide or placed device, we're hearing from Matthew Penhaul (sic) in his reporting earlier that there are perfectly round symmetrical holes, possibly from ball bearings or B.B.'s. That would indicate someone actually placed it or a suicide bomb.

Now, if it were a rocket or mortar, you would have thin and different kind of shrapnel. So they should be able to tell fairly early on in the investigation what kind of device was actually used.

O'BRIEN: Mike, as you talk -- you may not be able to see it -- there's that picture, which I know you have seen, showing the top of the tent and the way it appears, at least, to a layperson, that the explosion kind of went upward or came from -- you know, the top of the tent inward.

In either case, the explosion in that direction. Can we read that much into it, or is there -- is there yet -- you have to be on the scene to understand that better?

BROOKS: You have to actually be on the scene to kind of understand that, because if it were, in fact, a mortar or rocket, you still would have some kind of shrapnel go off of that and possibly tear a hole in the top of the tent.

But also, investigators there could be able to take some kind of swabbing to tell what kind of explosive was used. And even if it were an IED, that was -- that used conventional explosives, at least they'd be able to narrow it down a little bit better.

But what they do after that, Miles, they take all of these pieces of evidence, and they send it back to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia. It's called the Terrorism Explosive Devices Analytical Center.

And what they do there, they try to make a link on all of the other devices that they've come across from insurgents, from raids that they've been doing along the way. Because even when they're not investigating -- investigating these bombings, they're out there, kicking doors in, gathering intelligence. They take anything they have, send it back to see if there is a link to the groups that are making these claims.

O'BRIEN: Final thought here, the fact that the military has not said it appears this was a rocket, to me is telling. Because typically, incoming, as it were, is something that you can hear. It has a very distinct sound to it. And we haven't heard those sorts of reports from people who were there.

BROOKS: No, we have not heard those kind of reports. And you would probably be able to tell if it were a rocket or a mortar coming in, where on the other side if someone did walk in with a bomb strapped to them or there was one placed there, they wouldn't be able to know that. I mean, it would just be a total surprise.

And the other thing, they may not be telling us exactly what happened, because if it were, in fact, a security breach of either a suicide bomber or someone placing a bomb there, they want to make sure that they have plugged those holes before they come out and say exactly what it was, to make sure they're not vulnerable to that kind of attack again.

O'BRIEN: One way or another if it was, in fact, an inside job, that raises all kinds of issues for force protection and how you vet the Iraqi nationals that you have to work with, one way or another, whether they're in the Iraqi Army or they're contractors of some kind. It's a very difficult problem, isn't it?

BROOKS: It's extremely difficult. You can only do so much background checks on the people that live there. And you know, we have seen this happen in the past. And, again, as you say, it's very, very hard to vet that, because where do you have to work with?

Here in the United States, we do a background check on someone. We go back and check their criminal record. There in Iraq, it's very, very difficult to do this kind of vetting and, you know, sometimes things do slip through the cracks.

O'BRIEN: And one final thought here, another final thought -- suffice to say, there is enough forensic evidence there to give them a pretty strong indication as to what happened, do you think?

BROOKS: There should be early on. Even before the FBI team was there -- they've been on the ground for 17 hours. But even prior to that, you had the military explosive ordnance disposal teams that are assigned there in Mosul. They should have been able to do a preliminary inquiry and look, and take a look at the evidence and know exactly, or at least have a pretty good idea of exactly what happened.

O'BRIEN: Mike Brooks in Minneapolis today, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

BROOKS: Good to be with you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Only yesterday an Army lieutenant based in Virginia was quoted in his hometown newspaper as saying his unit was lucky. It hadn't lost anybody in the months they'd been in Iraq.

Lieutenant Sean Otto's engineering battalion was and is deployed at Camp Marez, where at lunchtime yesterday their luck ran out. Otto wasn't hurt and just as importantly, he was able to tell his wife as much in a quick phone call to Richmond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISH OTTO, WIFE OF G.I. IN MOSUL: When I got the phone call this morning, he said, "Honey, I just want you to know that I'm OK and that I love you and I'm fine. Everything's OK, but something bad has happened."

I know deep inside it's breaking his heart, because he loves his soldiers. He'd do anything -- he'd give his life for any of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And besides Richmond, the several thousand U.S. troops in Mosul hail from Augusta, Maine, and Fort Lewis, Washington, home of the 4,000-member Stryker Brigade. Even now, many Fort Lewis families are waiting to hear about their fathers and brothers and sons and daughters and wives and sisters.

CNN's Kimberly Osias has more now from the home front -- Kim.

OSIAS: Hello, Kyra.

Well, as you can well imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for the family members that are now watching and waiting. Certainly, heightened because of the holiday season and in light of Christmas.

I spoke to many people who said, quite frankly, the joy has been taken out and replaced by incredible heightened nerves.

And it is not just the families that are waiting, the families of these soldiers. It is other soldiers, as well. And a community, a community that has really wrapped their arms around these soldiers.

In fact, since Operation Iraqi Freedom started 20 months ago when the war broke out, a bridge that is very, very close to where we are standing over the Interstate 5 area, a major north-south artery here, has sported yellow ribbons. In fact, fresh ones have been flying in the wind since yesterday. In fact a number of supporters have taken to that area over the bridge and stood waving flags.

One postal service worker took the day off to show solidarity with these families, really doing anything that they could.

Yesterday, I spoke to some soldiers who said, really, their heart has gone out. And whenever they were with the Strykers -- I spoke to one lucky soldier who came back, who said whenever he was with the Strykers, he knew he was safe because they had his back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CESAR CONTRERAS, U.S. ARMY: Just knowing that there was one or two Strykers in our convoy it felt -- we felt a lot more secure, knowing that they were there with us. And it was a -- it was better than just having one or two gun trucks with us on the convoy. It was really, really helpful knowing that they were there, because they really took care of us out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: The Stryker unit has been in Iraq since October of 2003. The second group has gone in to augment in Mosul, in the northern city, just two months ago.

And, again, we do not know numbers yet, nor do we know names. We will not have that information until 24 hours after the last family member has been notified. That will, of course, be a very difficult task, given the fact that many are off base, already planning for Christmas -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kimberly Osias, from Fort Lewis, Washington. Thank you so much.

And we just got this news in out of Portland, Maine. Actually, the Governor of Maine has decided to release the names of two members of the state National Guard who were killed in Iraq.

Those victims of yesterday's attack on that mess tent in Mosul were identified as 47-year-old Sergeant Lynn Robert Poulin of Freedom and 20-year-old specialist Thomas John Dostie of Somerville. These Mainers were part of the 133rd Engineer Battalion.

In addition to those two that were killed, another 10 members of the unit were injured. Once again, we're talking about one of the deadliest attacks on American troops so far, since the war began -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, they say they did it. We'll get a closer look at the group that claims responsibility for the Camp Marez attack.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. To some, it's a winter wonderland; to others, it's a travel nightmare. The latest on a powerful winter storm hitting the Ohio Valley and affecting everyone from Texas to Teeterboro, coming up.

O'BRIEN: And Jacqui's missing the weather center right about now, I think.

Airport outrage. A more than thorough search irks. But what really sends some frequent flyers into orbit, you may ask. Well, the TSA's the reason why. We have your "Security Watch" coming up for you in just a moment. Stay with us.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, like it or not, folks in the Midwest are getting socked by a major snowstorm. One of the hardest hit cities, Evansville, Indiana.

Jacqui Jeras, depending on your perspective, either got the short straw today, or if you're a weather person such as she, and -- you want to be there, right? Is that right?

JERAS: I do want to be here, yes.

O'BRIEN: Well you look...

JERAS: I like it. I love the snow.

O'BRIEN: You look good in winter togs and it's good to see you outside, being a part of the weather you're always talking about. I assume you found some happy school kids who are out of school this week and enjoying this weather a little bit, huh?

JERAS: Well, we're actually at a truck stop right now, Miles. And most of the kids we've seen here...

O'BRIEN: No school kids there -- hopefully, you're not seeing kids there at the truck stop.

JERAS: I've seen a couple of kids and they're actually rather weary. In fact, I did have a family here that actually went inside and bought a DVD player so they could entertain the kids because they've decided to just forget about it and give the kid something to do while they wait out the storm.

The parents also not very happy. And very travel-weary.

And a lot of truckers have also decided to not go. In fact, earlier this morning, about five semis which were jack-knifed up U.S. 41 here because of the very slick conditions.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: It's hard to think about warm weather and tornadoes when I'm standing in the middle of this.

O'BRIEN: Yes, Jacqui. Hey, how's the coffee at the truck stop?

JERAS: You know, it's not bad. I've actually had a little this morning but I've been enjoying the warm tea, actually.

O'BRIEN: Warm tea, yes. I wouldn't go in there, though, to the truck stop and ask for a skinny decaf soy latte. They don't go for that there.

JERAS: Yes. Yes, in fact, I couldn't even find some flavored creamer. O'BRIEN: They'd sort of guess you're not a trucker. All right, Jacqui Jeras, at the truck stop, thanks very much. Going to a break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, new details on the group that claims to have committed the deadly attack in Mosul.

And later, is the latest wonder drug curing what ails you or compromising your health? What our guest has to say about medicine today that could make you sick.

Tomorrow, an unsure future. We'll take you back to the Iranian town of Bam, still struggling a year after the devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Software giant Microsoft has suffered a major legal setback. David Haffenreffer joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with the details.

(STOCK REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, I'm ask this, as you can see, right underneath you, "Harry's Magic." Well there, now we're seeing "Edging Higher." We'll swap that again.

This is just for Miles. The Harry Potter book, already a best seller?

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we talked to Miles about this yesterday. These...

O'BRIEN: What's the title? What's the title on it? "Harry Potter and the..."

HAFFENREFFER: "Half-Blood Prince."

O'BRIEN: Is it true he comes out of the closet, Harry does, in this one?

PHILLIPS: What? You are...

O'BRIEN: Starting a rumor.

PHILLIPS: You are awful. David, I'm sorry.

O'BRIEN: It's all right.

PHILLIPS: David's speechless.

HAFFENREFFER: It's a plot line not worth revealing at this point. They don't want to spoil the sales.

O'BRIEN: Millions of children now crest fallen. HAFFENREFFER: There are many fans out there, as you know, Miles. And they're all flocking now to the web to get a new copy of this book, which doesn't come out until the summer.

But "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is already ranked No. 1 among books on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, all this, of course, coming just a day after author J.K. Rowling, announced the book's July 16 release date.

Both web sites are taking advance orders for the book at $17.99 a copy. That's a 40 percent discount. And guaranteeing arrival on or just after the release date.

And what is the latest for you from Wall Street. Coming up, first they got rid of late fees. And now it's cutting prices. I'll tell you what Blockbuster is doing to stay ahead of the competition and to get your business.

Stay tuned. LIVE FROM is coming right back.

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