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CNN Live Today
Troops Under Fire
Aired July 21, 2003 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, yet another U.S. soldier has been killed. Details of this ambush are all too familiar. The soldier with the 1st Armored Division died, along with his interpreter, when their Humvee came under attack. This happened in Baghdad, and that is we find CNN's Rym Brahimi. She more details on this for us.
Hello, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
Indeed, that soldier from the 1st Division was actually killed when his vehicle actually exploded at the contact of an explosive device. Now, what happened was the explosive device was actually located on a crash barrier and seemed to have been detonated remotely and set the vehicle off, and the Iraqi interpreter was also killed, who was in the same vehicle. Now that's not the first time this happened. As you know, since Friday alone, five U.S. soldiers have been killed. Since May 1st, when President Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, some 38 U.S. soldiers have been killed in such ambushes.
Now, Leon, as you know, also two U.S. prominent U.S. officials are in Iraq right now. Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, is in town. He's warned foreigners not to interfere in Iraq. But he said that if there is help coming from outside, that would be welcome, a remark apparently aimed at neighboring countries who would want to interfere, in his words, or also suspected foreign fighters who may be helping remnants of the Baath Party regime in conducting the attacks.
The other prominent U.S. official in town is General Abuzayd (ph). The commander of U.S. troops is in Iraq, he's in the country for the first time. He talked about two measures aimed at facing these new security threats for U.S. soldiers. One of them, some of the heavily armored troops will be replaced by more lightly equipped troops, more mobile troops to face those new security threats more easily. And also the creation of 7,000 strong Iraqi militia, if you will. Now they're to be trained by U.S. Conventional forces, and he's hoping that they'll be on the ground patrolling with U.S. troops in 45 days -- Leon.
HARRIS: Thank you very much, Rym. Rym Brahimi, reporting live for us from Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 21, 2003 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, yet another U.S. soldier has been killed. Details of this ambush are all too familiar. The soldier with the 1st Armored Division died, along with his interpreter, when their Humvee came under attack. This happened in Baghdad, and that is we find CNN's Rym Brahimi. She more details on this for us.
Hello, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Leon.
Indeed, that soldier from the 1st Division was actually killed when his vehicle actually exploded at the contact of an explosive device. Now, what happened was the explosive device was actually located on a crash barrier and seemed to have been detonated remotely and set the vehicle off, and the Iraqi interpreter was also killed, who was in the same vehicle. Now that's not the first time this happened. As you know, since Friday alone, five U.S. soldiers have been killed. Since May 1st, when President Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, some 38 U.S. soldiers have been killed in such ambushes.
Now, Leon, as you know, also two U.S. prominent U.S. officials are in Iraq right now. Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, is in town. He's warned foreigners not to interfere in Iraq. But he said that if there is help coming from outside, that would be welcome, a remark apparently aimed at neighboring countries who would want to interfere, in his words, or also suspected foreign fighters who may be helping remnants of the Baath Party regime in conducting the attacks.
The other prominent U.S. official in town is General Abuzayd (ph). The commander of U.S. troops is in Iraq, he's in the country for the first time. He talked about two measures aimed at facing these new security threats for U.S. soldiers. One of them, some of the heavily armored troops will be replaced by more lightly equipped troops, more mobile troops to face those new security threats more easily. And also the creation of 7,000 strong Iraqi militia, if you will. Now they're to be trained by U.S. Conventional forces, and he's hoping that they'll be on the ground patrolling with U.S. troops in 45 days -- Leon.
HARRIS: Thank you very much, Rym. Rym Brahimi, reporting live for us from Baghdad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
