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Marines search media's Baghdad hotel
'To look for people who are not friendly to the
United States'
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) --Teams of U.S. Marines looked "for
unauthorized weapons" and people "not friendly to the United
States" in a search Tuesday at a Baghdad hotel that is a home base for
many journalists, a military source told CNN's Michael Holmes. The
Palestine Hotel houses about 2,000 international journalists who are covering
the war. It has been the site of two firefights. Arrests
were made, but information on the number and nationalities of those detained
was not immediately available. Sources at the hotel said the Marines searched
at least the ninth and 17th floors. "This
operation was to look for people who are not friendly to the United
States," the source said. "Our intelligence is that there may be
such people staying in the Palestine Hotel." A U.S.
attack on the hotel last week killed two journalists. U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces came under
"significant enemy fire" from the facility and responded
"consistent with the inherent right of self-defense." A tank from
the Army's 3rd Infantry Division fired into the hotel in response. CNN
Producer Linda Roth was in her room on the hotel's 17th floor when the search
began. "I
heard a slight tap, tap, tap at the door," she said. "It was the
U.S. military, weapons drawn. They ordered me into the room and to get down.
They came in, they searched the room, the closets, every single room and
asked to see my IDs and my passport." Roth
said a Marine stood guard at her door as the search continued throughout the
floor. "There
was definitely tension, and they were definitely looking for someone,"
she said. A
source said the Marines want to make sure the hotel is more secure. Steps to
do so probably will include moving people out of the hotel who are not
accredited journalists or U.S. service members. The
source said the military is not sure how many people that may be. The number,
however, is believed to be small. |
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