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American Morning
Violence in Iraq Continues
Aired October 17, 2003 - 07:32 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, CNN ANCHOR: We talked about the violence earlier today in Iraq, it continues yet again. Three U.S. M.P.s, three Iraqi police killed earlier today. A fierce gun battle still raging, we're told, in the town of Karbala. This follows three suicide bombings in the past week in Baghdad. As the violence continues, that capital city becoming a city of barricades.
Harris Whitbeck back in Baghdad with us live again.
First, the violence in Karbala.
What are you learning there -- Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, actually, we're learning that the gun battle appears to be over, but the situation is still quite tense in Karbala. U.S. forces have cordoned off the area. They're not allowing anybody to enter or exit the area where this gun battle occurred.
The gun battle occurred after U.S. military police and Iraqi police officers were on a joint routine patrol and they came across a group of men who were heavily armed, armed with RPG, rocket propelled grenade launchers and AK-47s. A gun battle ensued. Three U.S. military police died and two members of the Iraqi police force died, as well. About seven wounded. Among the wounded, five Americans -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Harris, we'll keep on top of that story throughout the morning.
Meanwhile, you've seen significant changes in Baghdad. Now you're seeing a town that's essentially building fortifications on a daily basis.
What have you observed there in Baghdad?
WHITBECK: That's right, Bill. After three suicide bombings in just under a week, the security measures that have been put in place in Baghdad have been intensified even more and they've really changed the landscape of this city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK (voice-over): They are all over Baghdad, huge concrete slabs. Some weigh as much as five and a half tons, so heavy they must be lifted into place by cranes. Protective barriers, blast walls around sensitive buildings. MAJ. JOHN O'GRADY, FORCE PROTECTION OFFICER, U.S. ARMY: Essentially what it's designed to do is mitigate the blast and any fragmentation of a blast on any type of explosive device.
WHITBECK: In the last week alone, three suicide bombers have attacked a police station, a hotel housing Westerners and members of the Iraqi Governing Council and the Turkish embassy. In the last two attacks, blast walls are credited with preventing the collapse of the buildings, saving lives. The blast walls are designed to topple over when hit by an explosion.
O'GRADY: You want to have some give to the material, if you will. And that helps to better absorb the blast.
WHITBECK: The walls are a hot commodity. Baghdad factories churn out hundreds of the poured concrete barriers each day. "The current security situation has increased demand," says this concrete plant worker. But the very visible barriers now dotting the Iraqi capital are just one aspect of responses to an increase in terrorist attacks. That includes deployment of more police, more intelligence work, more surveillance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK: Because the blast walls can only do so much, while they do mitigate the effects of an explosion, they do nothing to prevent attacks -- Bill.
HEMMER: A changing town, right before your eyes.
Harris, thanks.
Harris Whitbeck in 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 October 17, 2003 - 07:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We talked about the violence earlier today in Iraq, it continues yet again. Three U.S. M.P.s, three Iraqi police killed earlier today. A fierce gun battle still raging, we're told, in the town of Karbala. This follows three suicide bombings in the past week in Baghdad. As the violence continues, that capital city becoming a city of barricades.
Harris Whitbeck back in Baghdad with us live again.
First, the violence in Karbala.
What are you learning there -- Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, actually, we're learning that the gun battle appears to be over, but the situation is still quite tense in Karbala. U.S. forces have cordoned off the area. They're not allowing anybody to enter or exit the area where this gun battle occurred.
The gun battle occurred after U.S. military police and Iraqi police officers were on a joint routine patrol and they came across a group of men who were heavily armed, armed with RPG, rocket propelled grenade launchers and AK-47s. A gun battle ensued. Three U.S. military police died and two members of the Iraqi police force died, as well. About seven wounded. Among the wounded, five Americans -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Harris, we'll keep on top of that story throughout the morning.
Meanwhile, you've seen significant changes in Baghdad. Now you're seeing a town that's essentially building fortifications on a daily basis.
What have you observed there in Baghdad?
WHITBECK: That's right, Bill. After three suicide bombings in just under a week, the security measures that have been put in place in Baghdad have been intensified even more and they've really changed the landscape of this city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK (voice-over): They are all over Baghdad, huge concrete slabs. Some weigh as much as five and a half tons, so heavy they must be lifted into place by cranes. Protective barriers, blast walls around sensitive buildings. MAJ. JOHN O'GRADY, FORCE PROTECTION OFFICER, U.S. ARMY: Essentially what it's designed to do is mitigate the blast and any fragmentation of a blast on any type of explosive device.
WHITBECK: In the last week alone, three suicide bombers have attacked a police station, a hotel housing Westerners and members of the Iraqi Governing Council and the Turkish embassy. In the last two attacks, blast walls are credited with preventing the collapse of the buildings, saving lives. The blast walls are designed to topple over when hit by an explosion.
O'GRADY: You want to have some give to the material, if you will. And that helps to better absorb the blast.
WHITBECK: The walls are a hot commodity. Baghdad factories churn out hundreds of the poured concrete barriers each day. "The current security situation has increased demand," says this concrete plant worker. But the very visible barriers now dotting the Iraqi capital are just one aspect of responses to an increase in terrorist attacks. That includes deployment of more police, more intelligence work, more surveillance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK: Because the blast walls can only do so much, while they do mitigate the effects of an explosion, they do nothing to prevent attacks -- Bill.
HEMMER: A changing town, right before your eyes.
Harris, thanks.
Harris Whitbeck in 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
