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American Morning

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed in Baghdad

Aired July 28, 2003 - 07:03   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to Iraq, two U.S. soldiers were killed today in Baghdad. A grenade was dropped into their Humvee from a bridge in broad daylight. While the resistance continues, U.S. commanders say the noose is tightening around Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: He is so concerned with survival. He's been through these survival modes before. He knows how to do that, but we'll find him. It's a big country, but we'll find him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The task force hunting Saddam Hussein conducted raids yesterday in Baghdad and Tikrit.

Harris Whitbeck is live from Tikrit for us this morning.

Harris -- good morning.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

We're with the 4th Infantry Division, part of the U.S. Army. They are based in one of Saddam's former palaces in Tikrit, which is also his homeland.

Now, this morning, two platoons went on a very, very early morning raid. They went into a house that belonged to Saddam -- some of Saddam Hussein's loyalists, some of his tribesmen. And they found a large cache of arms and ammunition there. They also found a lot of documents and photographs that showed one family member being awarded medals, military medals by Saddam Hussein.

This type of raid is going on day and night in this area, and commanders here say that this type of raid is exactly what helps them gather more intelligence, more information on the possible whereabouts of not only Saddam Hussein, but also what is left of his leadership, of his inner circle. They say that every raid gives them more information and more details. And the U.S. commander on the ground here said that he felt it was only a matter of time, a very short time, in his words, before Saddam Hussein is caught.

Now, intelligence indicates that Hussein is moving around every two to four hours, which indicates that he is on the run and having trouble defending himself or planning ahead. So, again, U.S. military commanders on the ground confident that he will be caught soon -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Harris Whitbeck in Tikrit for us this morning. Harris, thanks for that report.

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 28, 2003 - 07:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to Iraq, two U.S. soldiers were killed today in Baghdad. A grenade was dropped into their Humvee from a bridge in broad daylight. While the resistance continues, U.S. commanders say the noose is tightening around Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: He is so concerned with survival. He's been through these survival modes before. He knows how to do that, but we'll find him. It's a big country, but we'll find him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The task force hunting Saddam Hussein conducted raids yesterday in Baghdad and Tikrit.

Harris Whitbeck is live from Tikrit for us this morning.

Harris -- good morning.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

We're with the 4th Infantry Division, part of the U.S. Army. They are based in one of Saddam's former palaces in Tikrit, which is also his homeland.

Now, this morning, two platoons went on a very, very early morning raid. They went into a house that belonged to Saddam -- some of Saddam Hussein's loyalists, some of his tribesmen. And they found a large cache of arms and ammunition there. They also found a lot of documents and photographs that showed one family member being awarded medals, military medals by Saddam Hussein.

This type of raid is going on day and night in this area, and commanders here say that this type of raid is exactly what helps them gather more intelligence, more information on the possible whereabouts of not only Saddam Hussein, but also what is left of his leadership, of his inner circle. They say that every raid gives them more information and more details. And the U.S. commander on the ground here said that he felt it was only a matter of time, a very short time, in his words, before Saddam Hussein is caught.

Now, intelligence indicates that Hussein is moving around every two to four hours, which indicates that he is on the run and having trouble defending himself or planning ahead. So, again, U.S. military commanders on the ground confident that he will be caught soon -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Harris Whitbeck in Tikrit for us this morning. Harris, thanks for that report.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.