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CNN Sunday Morning
Chaos in Najaf Continues
Aired August 31, 2003 - 09:02 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.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The chaos continues in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Guards killed a pregnant woman and her son today 48 hours after a bomb blast at a mosque took about 100 lives. Meanwhile, thousands of Shiite Muslim mourners have left a Baghdad suburb in a memorial procession to Najaf.
A live report now from CNN's Rym Brahimi in Baghdad. Hello again, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, John. Indeed, a sign of tension in the holy city of Najaf, that killing of two Iraqi civilians. You mentioned one pregnant woman and her son.
Their car was speeding by the home of a religious leader, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and the guards, nervous probably, shot at the speeding car, probably fearing that that it would attack the house or something. It basically just shows how tense the situation is right now.
Now early this morning in Baghdad, in the Iraqi capital, a group of mourners, actually up to 6,000 people, I'm told, went on a funeral procession. It's more of a symbolic funeral, John, because, as you know, the remains of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim haven't yet been found. So this is really a symbolic procession that's starting in Baghdad.
It started at the holy site known as al Karamiya (ph) in the Iraqi capital, and the mourners marched chanting slogans all the way to an area where they were then bussed and taken to the holy city of Hezbollah. That's where they're going to spend the night before then moving on to Najaf, which is probably where the funeral itself will take place.
Now we understand from coalition authorities that they will not be providing security for that funeral. They say they won't do that unless they are asked specifically for security. They're also not providing a forensic team at the investigation site, again, because they haven't been asked to. And the Iraqi police is leading the investigation -- John.
VAUSE: CNN's Rym Brahimi reporting for us live this morning from Baghdad. Thank you, Rym.
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 August 31, 2003 - 09:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The chaos continues in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Guards killed a pregnant woman and her son today 48 hours after a bomb blast at a mosque took about 100 lives. Meanwhile, thousands of Shiite Muslim mourners have left a Baghdad suburb in a memorial procession to Najaf.
A live report now from CNN's Rym Brahimi in Baghdad. Hello again, Rym.
RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, John. Indeed, a sign of tension in the holy city of Najaf, that killing of two Iraqi civilians. You mentioned one pregnant woman and her son.
Their car was speeding by the home of a religious leader, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and the guards, nervous probably, shot at the speeding car, probably fearing that that it would attack the house or something. It basically just shows how tense the situation is right now.
Now early this morning in Baghdad, in the Iraqi capital, a group of mourners, actually up to 6,000 people, I'm told, went on a funeral procession. It's more of a symbolic funeral, John, because, as you know, the remains of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim haven't yet been found. So this is really a symbolic procession that's starting in Baghdad.
It started at the holy site known as al Karamiya (ph) in the Iraqi capital, and the mourners marched chanting slogans all the way to an area where they were then bussed and taken to the holy city of Hezbollah. That's where they're going to spend the night before then moving on to Najaf, which is probably where the funeral itself will take place.
Now we understand from coalition authorities that they will not be providing security for that funeral. They say they won't do that unless they are asked specifically for security. They're also not providing a forensic team at the investigation site, again, because they haven't been asked to. And the Iraqi police is leading the investigation -- John.
VAUSE: CNN's Rym Brahimi reporting for us live this morning from Baghdad. Thank you, Rym.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
