Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Update on Iraq

Aired November 16, 2003 - 09:01   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: Our top story now. Two more U.S. helicopters go down in Iraq. At least 17 U.S. soldiers killed, five wounded and one missing in the crash of two Black Hawk helicopters in northern Iraq.
Correspondent Matthew Chance is at the scene in the city of Mosul. Chris Plante is at the Pentagon.

First, Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there have been so many attacks against coalition and U.S. forces in recent days and recent weeks, but this one has exacted the heaviest cost in terms of U.S. troops. You've joined me in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, in a position overlooking the crash site where those two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters came down on Saturday night local time.

The exact circumstances of their downing has not yet been made clear. But it may have been hostile fire. U.S. forces have been cordoning off this entire suburb of western Mosul in order to recover the wreckage and to gather whatever forensic evidence they can that will give them a better idea of what was it that caused the downing of these two choppers.

What we do know at this stage are the U.S. casualties. At least 17 confirmed dead as a result of this double crash. Another one body has also been found, said to be a U.S. serviceman, but it has not yet been identified. But that brings the number to 18, plus five who are said to have been injured, some of them seriously.

As we look out now above this area of Mosul, you can see that this is a very densely populated neighborhood. The choppers came down on the roofs of those buildings over there. One crashed into a school. Fortunately, no children were inside and no one was injured.

The other chopper came down on a house. I went inside that house, I spoke to the people inside. They told me how they were sitting, minding their own business, when they heard this loud explosion following by the impact of the Black Hawk helicopter crashing into their residence. So, it's amazing as well that none of them were injured nor anybody on the ground it seems in terms of Iraqis.

Still, a lot of hostility here towards U.S. forces from the Iraqis. Many of them expressing their glee that these two U.S. helicopters were brought down in their city.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Mosul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Now for reaction to this latest incident from the Pentagon. Chris Plante is standing by.

Chris, good morning to you.

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. There's still very little in the way of official reaction from the Pentagon. They are monitoring the situation, as Matthew said. They are still waiting for some sort of official word there as to what exactly brought these helicopters down. So they're waiting until they get some results before they provide any real reaction.

In the meantime, the head of the Provisional Authority in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, did an interview this morning with Wolf Blitzer which will be seen a little bit later on today on "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER," and he is providing some of the first official reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMB. PAUL BREMER, IRAQI CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: The only thing we know for sure is that they collided in midair. They were on separate missions, so they were not flying together in formation. And at the moment that's all we know.

We are waiting to hear the investigation of the military at this point. It's obviously a very tragic thing that happens, and it does remind us we're at war against terrorists here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLANTE: Now, since the downing of a Chinook helicopter earlier this month, the rules for flying helicopters have changed somewhat significantly. They're flying only at night, they're flying without lights. That may, as Ambassador Bremer was describing, have contributed to the situation if these two helicopters were, in fact, flying on separate missions.

In the meantime, there are two major somewhat offensive operations going on in the area around Baghdad known as the Ba'athist Triangle, the Sunni Triangle. Those two operations, Ivy Cyclone and Iron Hammer are designed to aggressively root out the people that are behind these attacks. And that is pretty much the course that the military is taking. So that's the line from here at the Pentagon -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Chris Plante coming to us from the Pentagon this morning. Thanks so much, Chris.

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 November 16, 2003 - 09:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Our top story now. Two more U.S. helicopters go down in Iraq. At least 17 U.S. soldiers killed, five wounded and one missing in the crash of two Black Hawk helicopters in northern Iraq.
Correspondent Matthew Chance is at the scene in the city of Mosul. Chris Plante is at the Pentagon.

First, Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there have been so many attacks against coalition and U.S. forces in recent days and recent weeks, but this one has exacted the heaviest cost in terms of U.S. troops. You've joined me in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, in a position overlooking the crash site where those two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters came down on Saturday night local time.

The exact circumstances of their downing has not yet been made clear. But it may have been hostile fire. U.S. forces have been cordoning off this entire suburb of western Mosul in order to recover the wreckage and to gather whatever forensic evidence they can that will give them a better idea of what was it that caused the downing of these two choppers.

What we do know at this stage are the U.S. casualties. At least 17 confirmed dead as a result of this double crash. Another one body has also been found, said to be a U.S. serviceman, but it has not yet been identified. But that brings the number to 18, plus five who are said to have been injured, some of them seriously.

As we look out now above this area of Mosul, you can see that this is a very densely populated neighborhood. The choppers came down on the roofs of those buildings over there. One crashed into a school. Fortunately, no children were inside and no one was injured.

The other chopper came down on a house. I went inside that house, I spoke to the people inside. They told me how they were sitting, minding their own business, when they heard this loud explosion following by the impact of the Black Hawk helicopter crashing into their residence. So, it's amazing as well that none of them were injured nor anybody on the ground it seems in terms of Iraqis.

Still, a lot of hostility here towards U.S. forces from the Iraqis. Many of them expressing their glee that these two U.S. helicopters were brought down in their city.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Mosul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Now for reaction to this latest incident from the Pentagon. Chris Plante is standing by.

Chris, good morning to you.

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. There's still very little in the way of official reaction from the Pentagon. They are monitoring the situation, as Matthew said. They are still waiting for some sort of official word there as to what exactly brought these helicopters down. So they're waiting until they get some results before they provide any real reaction.

In the meantime, the head of the Provisional Authority in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, did an interview this morning with Wolf Blitzer which will be seen a little bit later on today on "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER," and he is providing some of the first official reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMB. PAUL BREMER, IRAQI CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: The only thing we know for sure is that they collided in midair. They were on separate missions, so they were not flying together in formation. And at the moment that's all we know.

We are waiting to hear the investigation of the military at this point. It's obviously a very tragic thing that happens, and it does remind us we're at war against terrorists here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLANTE: Now, since the downing of a Chinook helicopter earlier this month, the rules for flying helicopters have changed somewhat significantly. They're flying only at night, they're flying without lights. That may, as Ambassador Bremer was describing, have contributed to the situation if these two helicopters were, in fact, flying on separate missions.

In the meantime, there are two major somewhat offensive operations going on in the area around Baghdad known as the Ba'athist Triangle, the Sunni Triangle. Those two operations, Ivy Cyclone and Iron Hammer are designed to aggressively root out the people that are behind these attacks. And that is pretty much the course that the military is taking. So that's the line from here at the Pentagon -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Chris Plante coming to us from the Pentagon this morning. Thanks so much, Chris.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com