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American Morning
Iraqi Police Target of Several Deadly Attacks
Aired February 10, 2004 - 08:14 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: Iraqi police have been the target of several deadly attacks today. At least 40 people were killed when a car bomb exploded outside a police station 25 miles south of Baghdad and four Iraqi police officers have been shot and killed in two separate attacks in east and west Baghdad.
Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf is there live for us right now in the Iraqi capital -- Jane, good morning.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The Army says it's ferrying casualties from what must have been an extremely powerful car bomb blast in Iskandariyah, about 25 miles south of here. As you mentioned, more than 40 dead and possibly 50 wounded in that blast. Four other police officers in Baghdad killed in what appear to be drive by shootings.
But despite that, coalition spokesman Dan Senor says it isn't all bad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISER TO COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: The good days outnumber the bad days. There are more days when Iraqis are stepping forward to play a role in our security services and the Iraqi security services. Over 150,000 Iraqis today serving in security services. Iraqis stepping forward to participate in town hall meetings, to play roles as political leaders. There are far more days populated with those events than there are with these tragic terrorist attacks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: And to try to minimize the number of bad days, the U.S. and the coalition are searching, intensifying their search, in fact, for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the suspected al Qaeda operative who, in a 17 page letter, has detailed plans to try to wage sectarian violence here to start a civil war.
Now, in a summary of that letter we've obtained, he refers to the Americans as "the biggest cowards god has created" and the "easiest target." "We ask god," he says, "to allow us to kill and detain them so we can exchange them with our arrested sheikhs and brothers." Despite that, he expresses frustration at the U.S. resolve and frustration over an inability to recruit enough Iraqis to the insurgency. He's claimed 25 operations, none of them proved. But if that is true, officials say, he could be more dangerous than Saddam Hussein was -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: And the hunt is on for him, as well.
Jane Arraf for us this morning.
Jane, thank you.
Jane joining us from Baghdad this morning.
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 February 10, 2004 - 08:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Iraqi police have been the target of several deadly attacks today. At least 40 people were killed when a car bomb exploded outside a police station 25 miles south of Baghdad and four Iraqi police officers have been shot and killed in two separate attacks in east and west Baghdad.
Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf is there live for us right now in the Iraqi capital -- Jane, good morning.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The Army says it's ferrying casualties from what must have been an extremely powerful car bomb blast in Iskandariyah, about 25 miles south of here. As you mentioned, more than 40 dead and possibly 50 wounded in that blast. Four other police officers in Baghdad killed in what appear to be drive by shootings.
But despite that, coalition spokesman Dan Senor says it isn't all bad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN SENOR, SENIOR ADVISER TO COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY: The good days outnumber the bad days. There are more days when Iraqis are stepping forward to play a role in our security services and the Iraqi security services. Over 150,000 Iraqis today serving in security services. Iraqis stepping forward to participate in town hall meetings, to play roles as political leaders. There are far more days populated with those events than there are with these tragic terrorist attacks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: And to try to minimize the number of bad days, the U.S. and the coalition are searching, intensifying their search, in fact, for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the suspected al Qaeda operative who, in a 17 page letter, has detailed plans to try to wage sectarian violence here to start a civil war.
Now, in a summary of that letter we've obtained, he refers to the Americans as "the biggest cowards god has created" and the "easiest target." "We ask god," he says, "to allow us to kill and detain them so we can exchange them with our arrested sheikhs and brothers." Despite that, he expresses frustration at the U.S. resolve and frustration over an inability to recruit enough Iraqis to the insurgency. He's claimed 25 operations, none of them proved. But if that is true, officials say, he could be more dangerous than Saddam Hussein was -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: And the hunt is on for him, as well.
Jane Arraf for us this morning.
Jane, thank you.
Jane joining us from Baghdad this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
