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CNN Sunday Morning
More U.S. Casualties in Iraq
Aired September 21, 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There are more U.S. casualties in new attacks in Iraq.
CNN's Walter Rodgers is live in Baghdad now with more details on this -- Walter, good morning to you.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Tragically, three more American families will be getting that cable from the Pentagon, from Washington, saying that they had loved ones killed in Iraq overnight. Three more dead Americans, two separate incidents. The first incident occurred at about 9:30 p.m. local time in Iraq in the Ramadi area. A soldier in the U.S. 3rd Armored Regiment was riding down a road on a convoy. Beside the road, an unexploded -- an improvised device went off and it killed that soldier. He died en route to hospital.
Then, in addition to that, just about 40 or so minutes later, two more soldiers, these in the 800th Military Police Brigade -- I believe that's a reserve unit out of the Long Island area. Two military policemen killed at the Abu Ghurayb Prison. Mortars were fired into that prison. By the way, that is a site which is a favorite of the Iraqi insurgents trying to kill the Americans. There are at least four mortar attacks on that particular prison facility in the course of a week.
The prisoners inside the facility are common criminals, everything from murderers to common thieves. There are also some security detainees in there. The exact number of prisoners, we can't tell you. But, again, there two American prisoners killed by mortars. These are stand-off weapons which are fired from afar into the prison. Thirteen other Americans wounded there -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Walter, as you say, this prison complex is the target for mortar attacks an average of about four out of seven days a week. Anything now that they are going to try to different security wise?
RODGERS: Well, the Army has, upon realizing that this is a hot target, they've done several things, not the least of which is put hard covers over where the American military police are. But apparently these were lucky shots or a lucky shot, whichever it was. The mortars came in and they just happened to hit some Americans who were outside the protective cover area.
This is one of the tragedies of war and for some reason the Iraqis who were shooting into this old prison -- by the way, this prison was one of the prisons that Saddam Hussein used for the people he hated the most. There are torture chambers in there, execution areas. In any event, the American soldiers were in the wrong place at the wrong time -- Heidi.
COLLINS: It's tragic.
All right, Walter Rodgers, thanks so much, live 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 September 21, 2003 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There are more U.S. casualties in new attacks in Iraq.
CNN's Walter Rodgers is live in Baghdad now with more details on this -- Walter, good morning to you.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Tragically, three more American families will be getting that cable from the Pentagon, from Washington, saying that they had loved ones killed in Iraq overnight. Three more dead Americans, two separate incidents. The first incident occurred at about 9:30 p.m. local time in Iraq in the Ramadi area. A soldier in the U.S. 3rd Armored Regiment was riding down a road on a convoy. Beside the road, an unexploded -- an improvised device went off and it killed that soldier. He died en route to hospital.
Then, in addition to that, just about 40 or so minutes later, two more soldiers, these in the 800th Military Police Brigade -- I believe that's a reserve unit out of the Long Island area. Two military policemen killed at the Abu Ghurayb Prison. Mortars were fired into that prison. By the way, that is a site which is a favorite of the Iraqi insurgents trying to kill the Americans. There are at least four mortar attacks on that particular prison facility in the course of a week.
The prisoners inside the facility are common criminals, everything from murderers to common thieves. There are also some security detainees in there. The exact number of prisoners, we can't tell you. But, again, there two American prisoners killed by mortars. These are stand-off weapons which are fired from afar into the prison. Thirteen other Americans wounded there -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Walter, as you say, this prison complex is the target for mortar attacks an average of about four out of seven days a week. Anything now that they are going to try to different security wise?
RODGERS: Well, the Army has, upon realizing that this is a hot target, they've done several things, not the least of which is put hard covers over where the American military police are. But apparently these were lucky shots or a lucky shot, whichever it was. The mortars came in and they just happened to hit some Americans who were outside the protective cover area.
This is one of the tragedies of war and for some reason the Iraqis who were shooting into this old prison -- by the way, this prison was one of the prisons that Saddam Hussein used for the people he hated the most. There are torture chambers in there, execution areas. In any event, the American soldiers were in the wrong place at the wrong time -- Heidi.
COLLINS: It's tragic.
All right, Walter Rodgers, thanks so much, live 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
