Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
2 American Soldiers Killed in Iraq
Aired July 20, 2003 - 07:00 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.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: In other news this morning, two more American soldiers have been killed, and one wounded, in Iraq. Insurgents fired small arms and rocket propelled grenades at a military convoy near Mosul. That's north of Baghdad and the area where most attacks on Americans have occurred. CNN's Harris Whitbeck has more from the capitol on that -- also, more on an attack of a U.N. convoy -- Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Thomas.
The attack on the convoy, actually, it occurred near Hela (ph), which is south of Baghdad, and the convoy belonged to the International Organization for Migration, which is not formally part of the U.N. but is under the U.N. umbrella here in Iraq. The convoy apparently carried humanitarian aid workers, who were traveling in that area.
The attack on the American soldiers, as you said, occurred near Mosul in northern Iraq. That convoy belonged to the 101st Airborne Division. And it was hit with small arms fire and with rocket propelled grenades. There were three soldiers who were injured in that attack. Two of those soldiers later died from their wounds at an American military field hospital.
Now, the city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, has become the scene of very intense demonstrations against the U.S. occupation here. Tens of thousands of people are gathered there now and they are protesting because yesterday one of the most prominent Shiite clerics in the region, Motada Al Sadar (ph), had delivered a speech on Friday, in which he had called for volunteers to form a new army.
He also denounced a U.S. backed governing council and called for Iraq's Shiite majority to play a larger role in the country's political leadership.
Now, this cleric then said that his house had been surrounded by U.S. troops after he delivered that speech. And that caused the ire of many of his followers, who have been protesting there now for two days. Again, the protest occurring as we speak. It is quite large; there are tens of thousands of people there.
Now the Shiites are Iraq's largest minority. They have the majority of the population Shiite, here. So, obviously, however the eventual confirmation of a more permanent Iraqi government ends up it would certainly have to account for the fact that the Shiites are such a large part of the population. Again, they are being very, very vocal about the American presence in Iraq. They say they want the United States out of here as quickly as possible -- Thomas.
ROBERTS: Harris, we'll be talking to you a little later on this morning about that protest gathering there. Harris Whitbeck, live for us in Baghdad. Thanks.
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 20, 2003 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: In other news this morning, two more American soldiers have been killed, and one wounded, in Iraq. Insurgents fired small arms and rocket propelled grenades at a military convoy near Mosul. That's north of Baghdad and the area where most attacks on Americans have occurred. CNN's Harris Whitbeck has more from the capitol on that -- also, more on an attack of a U.N. convoy -- Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Thomas.
The attack on the convoy, actually, it occurred near Hela (ph), which is south of Baghdad, and the convoy belonged to the International Organization for Migration, which is not formally part of the U.N. but is under the U.N. umbrella here in Iraq. The convoy apparently carried humanitarian aid workers, who were traveling in that area.
The attack on the American soldiers, as you said, occurred near Mosul in northern Iraq. That convoy belonged to the 101st Airborne Division. And it was hit with small arms fire and with rocket propelled grenades. There were three soldiers who were injured in that attack. Two of those soldiers later died from their wounds at an American military field hospital.
Now, the city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, has become the scene of very intense demonstrations against the U.S. occupation here. Tens of thousands of people are gathered there now and they are protesting because yesterday one of the most prominent Shiite clerics in the region, Motada Al Sadar (ph), had delivered a speech on Friday, in which he had called for volunteers to form a new army.
He also denounced a U.S. backed governing council and called for Iraq's Shiite majority to play a larger role in the country's political leadership.
Now, this cleric then said that his house had been surrounded by U.S. troops after he delivered that speech. And that caused the ire of many of his followers, who have been protesting there now for two days. Again, the protest occurring as we speak. It is quite large; there are tens of thousands of people there.
Now the Shiites are Iraq's largest minority. They have the majority of the population Shiite, here. So, obviously, however the eventual confirmation of a more permanent Iraqi government ends up it would certainly have to account for the fact that the Shiites are such a large part of the population. Again, they are being very, very vocal about the American presence in Iraq. They say they want the United States out of here as quickly as possible -- Thomas.
ROBERTS: Harris, we'll be talking to you a little later on this morning about that protest gathering there. Harris Whitbeck, live for us in Baghdad. Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
