(31 Mar 2004)
APTN
Baghdad
1. US Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt and spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Dan Senor walking in to press briefing
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Kimmitt, Brigadier General, US Army:
"It is our understanding that there were four people travelling in two vehicles, what they were doing there I''m not sure of. They, like most contractors, they have a responsibility throughout the country. As we work on governance, essential services, restoring the economy, we''ve got coalition employees throughout the cities, throughout the country trying to work with the people of Iraq, trying to work with the organisations."
3. Press briefing
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Kimmitt, Brigadier General, US Army:
"There are four families in this world today that are going to get knocks on the door and you don''t want to be on either side of that door when it happens, either hearing the news or delivering the news. There''ll be five military families that get that same news today. But that isn''t going to stop us from doing our mission. In fact it would be disgracing the deaths of these people if we were to stop our missions."
POOL
Berlin
5. Pan from media to US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Afghan President Hamid Karzai
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Coin Powell, US Secretary of State
(Question: Can this ever end?)
"Sure it can. We''re moving forward with the political process that you''re all familiar with. We have transitional administrative law."
APTN
Ramadi
7. Gunfire on streets with Iraq Civil Defence Corps (ICDC) moving into position
8. Armed men on streets
9. ICDC and police surround car
10. US soldier on roof
11. Various of car which came under attack
STORYLINE:
Four foreign contractors working for the United States led coalition - one a woman, at least one an American - were killed in a rebel ambush on their vehicle in Fallujah on Wednesday.
Shocking television footage of the incident shows jubilant Iraqi residents dragging charred corpses through the streets reminiscent of the 1993 scene in Somalia, when a mob dragged the corpse of a U.S. soldier through the streets of Mogadishu.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, five U.S soldiers died in a roadside bombing when their M-113 armored personnel carrier ran over a bomb in a separate incident 12 miles (19 kilometers) to the northwest.
Speaking at a coalition briefing in Baghdad, US Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said the victims were contractors working with the coalition. He did not say what they were doing in Fallujah.
He said such attacks would not bring about a U.S. withdrawal. He said: "it isn''t going to stop us from doing our mission. In fact it would be disgracing the deaths of these people if we were to stop our missions."
In Berlin, helping to raise assistance for rehabilitating Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said that he thought the violence in Iraq will end.
He said: "Sure it can. We''re moving forward with the political process that you''re all familiar with. We have transitional administrative law."
Despite the optimism and determination from U.S. officials, it was one of the bloodiest days this year for the U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq.
Also Wednesday gunfire rang out in the streets of Ramadi as Iraq Civil Defence Corps (ICDC) and US forces were attacked by unknown assailants.
A four wheel drive vehicle was apparently attacked, sparking the firefight.
The attack on the vehicle and the firefight come on a day of increasing tension in Ramadi.
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