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American Morning
Member of U.S. Army Shot and Killed
Aired December 18, 2003 - 08:04 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: Late last night here in Baghdad, getting word a member of the U.S. Army shot and killed by small arms fire just in the northern sections of Baghdad, bringing the total now to 200 U.S. service members killed by hostile fire since back on May 1, when the president declared that major combat operations are over. That word coming in late last night here in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the news from the day is yet another image of Saddam Hussein in custody of U.S. forces here. A rather interesting photo. I'm going to point out a few things for you. The gentleman here is Ahmad Chalabi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council. And obviously Saddam Hussein sitting across from him. There are three other members of the Iraqi Governing Council who also met with Saddam Hussein but are not seen in this picture. In fact, they're sitting off to the right of Ahmad Chalabi.
You might ask why is that the case? Well, this newspaper is operated by the INC, which is the political party of Ahmad Chalabi here in Iraq.
As for Saddam Hussein, a few things to point out here. He's wearing sandals in this photo and also the traditional Arab dress, a far cry from what we have seen in many photos over many years when he would either wear a military uniform or what's considered a Western business suit.
The latest image from Saddam Hussein.
Meanwhile, the Operation Ivy Blizzard continues. This is in the town of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad. We are told, some reports suggest that 1,500 resistance members may be residing in this area. It's been a hotbed of resistance. Many Americans, again, going into there, as part of the U.S. Army, trying to root out the resistance, trying to root out the insurgency.
Last hour, however, here live on AMERICAN MORNING, we asked that question about the number of fighters who might be in that area. No confirmation, though. No solid number given about the 1,500. But we do know over the past several weeks and months, it has been a -- to quote one member of the U.S. Army, a thorn in the side for the U.S. military.
Two days ago, we do know they had more than 100 apprehended. We don't know today just yet how many more have been taken in custody. But that's something we're tracking and we do know that town has been surrounded and essentially cut off. Samarra has been a hotbed. The U.S. trying to change the course in that town as we speak. More from Baghdad in a moment.
Back to New York and Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thank you.
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 December 18, 2003 - 08:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Late last night here in Baghdad, getting word a member of the U.S. Army shot and killed by small arms fire just in the northern sections of Baghdad, bringing the total now to 200 U.S. service members killed by hostile fire since back on May 1, when the president declared that major combat operations are over. That word coming in late last night here in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the news from the day is yet another image of Saddam Hussein in custody of U.S. forces here. A rather interesting photo. I'm going to point out a few things for you. The gentleman here is Ahmad Chalabi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council. And obviously Saddam Hussein sitting across from him. There are three other members of the Iraqi Governing Council who also met with Saddam Hussein but are not seen in this picture. In fact, they're sitting off to the right of Ahmad Chalabi.
You might ask why is that the case? Well, this newspaper is operated by the INC, which is the political party of Ahmad Chalabi here in Iraq.
As for Saddam Hussein, a few things to point out here. He's wearing sandals in this photo and also the traditional Arab dress, a far cry from what we have seen in many photos over many years when he would either wear a military uniform or what's considered a Western business suit.
The latest image from Saddam Hussein.
Meanwhile, the Operation Ivy Blizzard continues. This is in the town of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad. We are told, some reports suggest that 1,500 resistance members may be residing in this area. It's been a hotbed of resistance. Many Americans, again, going into there, as part of the U.S. Army, trying to root out the resistance, trying to root out the insurgency.
Last hour, however, here live on AMERICAN MORNING, we asked that question about the number of fighters who might be in that area. No confirmation, though. No solid number given about the 1,500. But we do know over the past several weeks and months, it has been a -- to quote one member of the U.S. Army, a thorn in the side for the U.S. military.
Two days ago, we do know they had more than 100 apprehended. We don't know today just yet how many more have been taken in custody. But that's something we're tracking and we do know that town has been surrounded and essentially cut off. Samarra has been a hotbed. The U.S. trying to change the course in that town as we speak. More from Baghdad in a moment.
Back to New York and Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
