CNN Exclusive: Inside Baghdad hospital, harrowing tales from the front line
By Chelsea J. Carter and Bader Katy
cnn.com - Ali Hassan's body is broken, courtesy of a sniper who blew holes in the soldier's left leg and left hand. The wounds are so fresh that blood seeps through the bandages. He winces as he struggles to try to sit up before giving up and lying back down on the gurney. Staring up at the stained hospital ceiling, Hassan recounts the fierce firefight Wednesday on the streets of hospital, harrowing tales from the front line.
Story by Chelsea J. Carter, CNN
Photos by Chelsea J. Carter and Mussab Al-Khairalla
Even people who aren't in the line of fire in Iraq feel the effects of the chaos that has engulfed the country since extremists attacked weeks ago. That's clear from a trip to a market in central Baghdad. Shoppers suddenly pay more for water and fish. They finger tomatoes and cucumbers that are just a bit too ripe. And a baker isn't selling nearly as much sweet bread as he did just weeks ago. The merchants are open for business – at least for now - but the turmoil clearly has altered the rhythms of everyday life.
U.S. military works to get troops home faster from Iraq
By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN
The U.S. military is ordering that soldiers crossing from Iraq into Kuwait be returned home at a faster rate, a move that comes as commanders work to break up a bottleneck of troops who have been pouring across the border ahead of a year-end deadline to withdraw, CNN has learned.
"The order is to have these soldiers off the ground in Kuwait as soon as possible," a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN. The official, based in Kuwait, was not authorized to speak to the media.
"They don't want these soldiers sitting around here. They want them home."
Frank Rosenblatt returns to Iraq as a lawyer -- and a new father
By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN
Rocket alarms pierced the quiet at Camp Warrior, breaking the concentration of Army Maj. Frank Rosenblatt.
The 35-year-old military lawyer was talking strategy with other attorneys on their effort to push the Iraqi government to prosecute a man accused of launching attacks against the American base. Now, another assault was under way.
A voice blared from the loudspeakers: "Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!"