Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Pentagon Looking at Report U.S. Soldiers Were Executed by Iraqis
Aired March 26, 2003 - 07:12 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: For all of the latest developments on the war effort, we're going to go straight to the Pentagon. That's where we find Barbara Starr standing by this morning.
Good morning -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well, a lot of breaking developments here, and we're going to start off with a piece of very sad news.
The Pentagon, as first reported in "The New York Times" this morning, has indeed one report that it has received that it is possible some U.S. soldiers were executed by Iraqis. You'll remember several days ago there was a supply convoy that was ambushed, five Americans taken prisoner of war. Seven were listed as killed in action.
There is now a report the Pentagon is seriously looking at that. Those American soldiers, seven of them, as they got out of their trucks, they may have put up their hands to surrender and been shot by the Iraqis while they were surrendering.
Another piece of news on the POW front, we have also learned that the two Apache helicopter pilots, who are now being held by the Iraqis, when they went down, there was a very significant effort to try and rescue them before they were captured. Other helicopters in the vicinity saw where they went down, tried to rescue them, but came under heavy enemy fire and had to turn back.
Sources now this morning also confirming in the latest developments in the war that indeed U.S. forces struck a TV transmitter for Iraqi television. We are told they used a brand new weapon never used before. We're not being told exactly what it was, but we are told it's not the E-bomb, or electromagnetic bomb, that we've all heard so much about. We hope to have more for you on that later today.
Now, in the fighting, sources also telling us the fighting around Najaf has continued off and on since yesterday. They do believe now they have killed 300 Iraqi forces in that fight. No reports of any U.S. injuries or casualties. All of this taking place a bit south of Karbala, where the Medina Republican Guard Division is trying to reinforce itself.
But what is most interesting is as this Najaf fire fight has continued, sources here at the Pentagon now saying the U.S. military may have underestimated the strength and capability of the Saddam Fedayeen fighters, the paramilitary fighters that have given the U.S. so much trouble up and down the road -- Paula.
ZAHN: Barbara, thanks so much. We'll be counting on you and relying on you a lot throughout the morning. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Iraqis>
Aired March 26, 2003 - 07:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: For all of the latest developments on the war effort, we're going to go straight to the Pentagon. That's where we find Barbara Starr standing by this morning.
Good morning -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well, a lot of breaking developments here, and we're going to start off with a piece of very sad news.
The Pentagon, as first reported in "The New York Times" this morning, has indeed one report that it has received that it is possible some U.S. soldiers were executed by Iraqis. You'll remember several days ago there was a supply convoy that was ambushed, five Americans taken prisoner of war. Seven were listed as killed in action.
There is now a report the Pentagon is seriously looking at that. Those American soldiers, seven of them, as they got out of their trucks, they may have put up their hands to surrender and been shot by the Iraqis while they were surrendering.
Another piece of news on the POW front, we have also learned that the two Apache helicopter pilots, who are now being held by the Iraqis, when they went down, there was a very significant effort to try and rescue them before they were captured. Other helicopters in the vicinity saw where they went down, tried to rescue them, but came under heavy enemy fire and had to turn back.
Sources now this morning also confirming in the latest developments in the war that indeed U.S. forces struck a TV transmitter for Iraqi television. We are told they used a brand new weapon never used before. We're not being told exactly what it was, but we are told it's not the E-bomb, or electromagnetic bomb, that we've all heard so much about. We hope to have more for you on that later today.
Now, in the fighting, sources also telling us the fighting around Najaf has continued off and on since yesterday. They do believe now they have killed 300 Iraqi forces in that fight. No reports of any U.S. injuries or casualties. All of this taking place a bit south of Karbala, where the Medina Republican Guard Division is trying to reinforce itself.
But what is most interesting is as this Najaf fire fight has continued, sources here at the Pentagon now saying the U.S. military may have underestimated the strength and capability of the Saddam Fedayeen fighters, the paramilitary fighters that have given the U.S. so much trouble up and down the road -- Paula.
ZAHN: Barbara, thanks so much. We'll be counting on you and relying on you a lot throughout the morning. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Iraqis>
