(7 Oct 2004)
Samarra, Iraq
1. Golden dome of Imam Ali al-Hadi
2. Wreckage of car, shrine of Imam Ali al-Hadi in background
3. Various of wreckage of vehicles
4. Demolished houses
5. White smoke rising over the city - burnt out car in foreground
6. Mid shot smoke
7. Destroyed houses
8. Various of barrels full of cucumbers
9. Children walking among rubble
10. Various of destroyed houses
11. A girl standing in rubble
12. Various of Iraqi policemen preparing to carry on their duties
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Hameed Hadi, Director of al-Shuhada police station (sitting in office with colleague):
''We declare our readiness to control the security situation in Samarra after the departure of the American troops from the city.''
14. Wide shot cemetery
15. Various of men burying person killed in fighting
16. Man weeping
17. Men at the graveyard
18. Boy crying near a grave
19. Wide shot cemetery with Iraqi flags on tombs
Tikrit, Iraq
20. Major General John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division
21. SOUNDBITE: (English) Major General John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division:
"We confirm a total of 127 anti-Iraqi forces killed in the fighting. To date Iraqi and coalition forces have captured 128 enemy fighters in Samarra all currently contained. We very much regret the tragic loss of life and injury to innocent human beings caught in the cross fire. After checking with the directors of the hospitals in both Samarra and Tikrit we now count 20 civilians killed in the fighting and an additional 61 wounded all in a city of two hundred thousand people."
22. Wide of podium
23. Reporters in audience
STORYLINE:
Wrecked vehicles littered the streets of Samarra, 95 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Baghdad, on Wednesday, after fierce fighting between insurgents and US and Iraqi forces.
The city sustained serious damage after Iraqi National Guard forces and US troops launched a major assault on Friday in an attempt to reclaim the Sunni Triangle city.
After two days of intense battles, US and Iraqi officials declared the military operation a major victory on Sunday.
On Tuesday Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi warned that the Samarra assault was merely a first step towards clearing other rebel strongholds before the January election.
But locals have been angered by the civilian death toll and were still burying their dead on Wednesday.
Local hospitals put the death toll at 70, among them 23 children and 18 women.
160 people were wounded, according to hospital officials.
A senior US officer said during the fighting in Samarra, 127 insurgents were killed and 128 captured, including 21 foreign fighters.
Major General John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, told reporters in Tikrit that the insurgents included some supporters of Saddam Hussein as well as ordinary criminals.
Batiste also disputed civilian casualty claims from Iraqi medical personnel in Samarra. He said the final count from hospitals in Samarra and Tikrit showed 20 civilians killed and 61 wounded.
He said there could have been others killed or wounded who were never brought to hospital.
Samarra General Hospital reported receiving 70 bodies during the fighting, including 23 children and 18 women. An additional 160 people were treated for injuries it said Sunday.
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