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American Morning
Ammunition Trucks Destroyed in Najaf
Aired April 02, 2003 - 09:26 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.
BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Ryan Chilcote's popping up with the 101st Airborne Division near Najaf.
Ryan, what do you have there? We saw this live picture, the smoke billowing toward the sky. What's happening, as best you can tell?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. As you said, I'm in the city of Najaf, which in central Iraq. What you're seeing behind me, I'm going to step out of the picture. That black smoke is coming from two ammunition trucks, I'm told by some commanders here, two ammunition trucks that have been hidden by Iraqi Fedayeen fighters.
The two ammunition trucks had been apparently covered up by some wheat, pretty poorly hidden, actually in an alleyway. U.S. troops found them as they were clearing the city, as they were moving through the city of Najaf. They've been in the city since yesterday and called in some Apache attack helicopters.
Now they've moved away from that area because where that black smoke is, there are a lot of secondary explosions. Basically, the ammunition that was in those trucks is still exploding.
So the helicopters have moved away. But they are still in the city and we can show them to you. They're right in the middle of the city here. We have Apache attack helicopters and Kiowa Warrior helicopters. Now they look a little bit like mosquitoes with our lens from this distance. But I can assure you they are by no means toys. Very powerful helicopter gun ships.
One of those Apache attack helicopters, one of those AH-64s, just a short while ago, fired most likely a Hellfire missile at those ammunition trucks, creating those black plumes of smoke.
Now, as I said, we are in the city of Najaf. And Najaf is a very important place in Iraq, in the world, for Shia Muslims in particular.
It is just over my right here, you can see it over there, the golden dome. That is the Ali mosque, one of the key places to Shia Muslims in the world. It is where Shia Muslims believe Ali, the cousin of the prophet Mohammed, where his remains are. It is an important place to visit if you are coming to Najaf. It is a place where many Shia Muslims come on pilgrimages.
It has also been exempt from all of the fighting here in the city of Najaf. U.S. military commanders really going out of their way not to hit that mosque. Now, there has been a lot of controversy about the fighting that took place around the mosque two days ago, the day before yesterday. There was a big gunfight in that area. U.S. forces using Howitzers, artillery, using fixed wing aircraft, using helicopter gunships to destroy buildings adjacent to the mosque, where they believe Fedayeen fighters, the guerrilla -- paramilitary fighters, were hiding out and shooting at them.
Now there was also a report that the Fedayeen paramilitaries were using the mosque to shoot at U.S. troops, apparently this report coming out of central command.
Well, the field commanders that I'm with here from the 101st Airborne say that is not entirely the case. They do not believe anyone actually fired at them from the mosque. What they believe is that Fedayeen fighters, these paramilitaries, would hide in the mosque, use the mosque as sanctuary and run from it to the adjacent buildings and shoot at U.S. troops using mortar fire and Howitzer artilleries.
Today, though, a different scene. U.S. troops in the city, policing in the streets, being welcomed by a lot of the Shia Muslims. But still, as you can see, a lot of fighting and a lot of firepower still in the air. U.S. troops still clearing certain parts of this city. Back to you.
HEMMER: Ryan, quickly, I need a quick answer on this. How much of Najaf right now is considered secured, under control? Do you know?
CHILCOTE: It's difficult to say, even more difficult for me to answer in the framework of operational security. What I can say is that troops from the 101st Airborne are in the outskirts of An Najaf and it is not necessarily their objective to occupy this city.
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 April 2, 2003 - 09:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Ryan Chilcote's popping up with the 101st Airborne Division near Najaf.
Ryan, what do you have there? We saw this live picture, the smoke billowing toward the sky. What's happening, as best you can tell?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. As you said, I'm in the city of Najaf, which in central Iraq. What you're seeing behind me, I'm going to step out of the picture. That black smoke is coming from two ammunition trucks, I'm told by some commanders here, two ammunition trucks that have been hidden by Iraqi Fedayeen fighters.
The two ammunition trucks had been apparently covered up by some wheat, pretty poorly hidden, actually in an alleyway. U.S. troops found them as they were clearing the city, as they were moving through the city of Najaf. They've been in the city since yesterday and called in some Apache attack helicopters.
Now they've moved away from that area because where that black smoke is, there are a lot of secondary explosions. Basically, the ammunition that was in those trucks is still exploding.
So the helicopters have moved away. But they are still in the city and we can show them to you. They're right in the middle of the city here. We have Apache attack helicopters and Kiowa Warrior helicopters. Now they look a little bit like mosquitoes with our lens from this distance. But I can assure you they are by no means toys. Very powerful helicopter gun ships.
One of those Apache attack helicopters, one of those AH-64s, just a short while ago, fired most likely a Hellfire missile at those ammunition trucks, creating those black plumes of smoke.
Now, as I said, we are in the city of Najaf. And Najaf is a very important place in Iraq, in the world, for Shia Muslims in particular.
It is just over my right here, you can see it over there, the golden dome. That is the Ali mosque, one of the key places to Shia Muslims in the world. It is where Shia Muslims believe Ali, the cousin of the prophet Mohammed, where his remains are. It is an important place to visit if you are coming to Najaf. It is a place where many Shia Muslims come on pilgrimages.
It has also been exempt from all of the fighting here in the city of Najaf. U.S. military commanders really going out of their way not to hit that mosque. Now, there has been a lot of controversy about the fighting that took place around the mosque two days ago, the day before yesterday. There was a big gunfight in that area. U.S. forces using Howitzers, artillery, using fixed wing aircraft, using helicopter gunships to destroy buildings adjacent to the mosque, where they believe Fedayeen fighters, the guerrilla -- paramilitary fighters, were hiding out and shooting at them.
Now there was also a report that the Fedayeen paramilitaries were using the mosque to shoot at U.S. troops, apparently this report coming out of central command.
Well, the field commanders that I'm with here from the 101st Airborne say that is not entirely the case. They do not believe anyone actually fired at them from the mosque. What they believe is that Fedayeen fighters, these paramilitaries, would hide in the mosque, use the mosque as sanctuary and run from it to the adjacent buildings and shoot at U.S. troops using mortar fire and Howitzer artilleries.
Today, though, a different scene. U.S. troops in the city, policing in the streets, being welcomed by a lot of the Shia Muslims. But still, as you can see, a lot of fighting and a lot of firepower still in the air. U.S. troops still clearing certain parts of this city. Back to you.
HEMMER: Ryan, quickly, I need a quick answer on this. How much of Najaf right now is considered secured, under control? Do you know?
CHILCOTE: It's difficult to say, even more difficult for me to answer in the framework of operational security. What I can say is that troops from the 101st Airborne are in the outskirts of An Najaf and it is not necessarily their objective to occupy this city.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
