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CNN Saturday Morning News
Funeral Services Get Under Way in Najaf
Aired August 30, 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: A crowd has gathered in the Iraqi city of Najaf for funeral services for some of the victims of yesterday's bombing. The powerful bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite Muslim mosque, killing more than 100 people, including a leading cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Bakir al-Hakim.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is covering the story now in Najaf. Hello, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Heidi.
The atmosphere here is very uneasy at the moment. A high level of tension. People, there are rumors going around of bombs going off. The U.S. and Iraqi forces have set up a checkpoint just near our hotel to try to control the number of people going in and out of the city.
At the moment, there are thousands of people at the main square outside the Imam Ali Mosque. That is where that bomb went off at about 2:00 p.m. yesterday, as hundreds of worshipers were leaving that mosque after Friday prayers.
What's going on now, in addition to those thousands of people who have gathered there to mourn the death of Mohammed Bakir al-Hakim, that senior Shi'ite cleric, they're also trying to clear away some of the debris, some of the cars that were destroyed in the blast.
Now, just a little while ago, we were able to chase -- follow a police car that was chasing after a vehicle that, for some reason, they considered suspicious. They were able to stop the vehicle, make the passengers and the driver get out.
At checkpoint, these people, according to bystanders, appeared to be from out of town, from the city of Ramadi (ph), which is a predominantly Sunni Arab town. They've been brought in for questioning.
In fact, our understanding is that probably as many as a dozen people have been brought in for questioning in regards to the bombing. No clear indication at this point as to who may be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- behind it, but given the emotions here, it's very -- it's not necessarily a good place to be going around in the streets.
I've spoken to other journalists who tried to get near the Imam Ali Mosque, and they were basically chased away by an angry mob. So the mood here is not a very pretty one, Heidi. COLLINS: I would imagine not. And Ben, I know that everyone is very concerned, obviously, about the security situation. Does it seem like there's any more security at all, in comparison to just yesterday?
WEDEMAN: There certainly is. As I told you, there's this checkpoint manned by U.S. forces as well as Iraqi police just near here. There is an attempt to really -- by the police to just get a hold on this situation, because it does seem to be a bit out of control at the moment.
We watched during the night as truckload after truckload of men came into the city. These are mourners, many of them, most of them, probably. But there is a worry that with so many people streaming into the city from throughout southern Iraq, that the situation could very easily get out of control.
And I mentioned these rumors about bombs going off all over town. Now, as far as we know, in fact, no bombs have gone off. But because of emotions are so high, it seems that everybody's sort of grabbing at straws, looking for -- looking everywhere for potential problems on top of the problems that already exist, Heidi.
COLLINS: CNN's Ben Wedeman reporting for us live from Najaf. Thanks so much, Ben.
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 30, 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: A crowd has gathered in the Iraqi city of Najaf for funeral services for some of the victims of yesterday's bombing. The powerful bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite Muslim mosque, killing more than 100 people, including a leading cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Bakir al-Hakim.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is covering the story now in Najaf. Hello, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Heidi.
The atmosphere here is very uneasy at the moment. A high level of tension. People, there are rumors going around of bombs going off. The U.S. and Iraqi forces have set up a checkpoint just near our hotel to try to control the number of people going in and out of the city.
At the moment, there are thousands of people at the main square outside the Imam Ali Mosque. That is where that bomb went off at about 2:00 p.m. yesterday, as hundreds of worshipers were leaving that mosque after Friday prayers.
What's going on now, in addition to those thousands of people who have gathered there to mourn the death of Mohammed Bakir al-Hakim, that senior Shi'ite cleric, they're also trying to clear away some of the debris, some of the cars that were destroyed in the blast.
Now, just a little while ago, we were able to chase -- follow a police car that was chasing after a vehicle that, for some reason, they considered suspicious. They were able to stop the vehicle, make the passengers and the driver get out.
At checkpoint, these people, according to bystanders, appeared to be from out of town, from the city of Ramadi (ph), which is a predominantly Sunni Arab town. They've been brought in for questioning.
In fact, our understanding is that probably as many as a dozen people have been brought in for questioning in regards to the bombing. No clear indication at this point as to who may be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- behind it, but given the emotions here, it's very -- it's not necessarily a good place to be going around in the streets.
I've spoken to other journalists who tried to get near the Imam Ali Mosque, and they were basically chased away by an angry mob. So the mood here is not a very pretty one, Heidi. COLLINS: I would imagine not. And Ben, I know that everyone is very concerned, obviously, about the security situation. Does it seem like there's any more security at all, in comparison to just yesterday?
WEDEMAN: There certainly is. As I told you, there's this checkpoint manned by U.S. forces as well as Iraqi police just near here. There is an attempt to really -- by the police to just get a hold on this situation, because it does seem to be a bit out of control at the moment.
We watched during the night as truckload after truckload of men came into the city. These are mourners, many of them, most of them, probably. But there is a worry that with so many people streaming into the city from throughout southern Iraq, that the situation could very easily get out of control.
And I mentioned these rumors about bombs going off all over town. Now, as far as we know, in fact, no bombs have gone off. But because of emotions are so high, it seems that everybody's sort of grabbing at straws, looking for -- looking everywhere for potential problems on top of the problems that already exist, Heidi.
COLLINS: CNN's Ben Wedeman reporting for us live from Najaf. Thanks so much, Ben.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
