[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] Happening now, a Cleveland suburb shaken. Word that 14 United States Marines killed today in Iraq were from the same Ohio-based battalion that lost six Marines two days earlier. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
[Blitzer:] Terrible toll. U.S. Marines suffer heavy losses at the hands of insurgents.
[Brigadier General Carter Ham, U.s. Army:] This is a very lethal and unfortunately adaptive enemy that we are faced with inside Iraq.
[Blitzer:] Is that enemy also inside the Iraqi police? Crash landing.
[Eddie Ho, Passenger On Flight 358:] We saw smoke coming from behind us. And the flames started coming from behind us, and it was just, you know, get out of the plane as fast as possible.
[Blitzer:] Passengers say it's a miracle they all got out alive. Repair job. Astronauts perform emergency surgery on their space shuttle.
[Steve Robinson, Astronaut:] OK. Lifting out very easily. Probably even less force. It looks like this big patient is cured.
[Blitzer:] Their lives may depend on it.
[Announcer:] This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, August 3, 2005.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much for joining us. Insurgents and jihadists have found a home in Iraq's sprawling Anbar province and have turned it into a hotbed of violence. This week, they've dealt devastating blows there, killing a total of 21 United States Marines. Twenty of those Marines died in two very bloody incidents in one very dangerous town, and they were from a battalion based outside Cleveland, Ohio. Let's go straight to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. She's standing by with details Barbara
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, in the last 10 days, 43 U.S. troops killed across Iraq. In the latest attacks, several Marines from the same reserve unit in Ohio.
[Starr:] As U.S. troops moved through the town of Haditha in western Iraq, a crater marks where a roadside bomb killed 14 Marines on Wednesday. It was the latest of two deadly attacks in far western Iraq where U.S. and Iraqi forces have been moving throughout this Euphrates River area, conducting simultaneous raids to isolate insurgents still controlling much of this Sunni stronghold. U.S. commanders believe the insurgents are now stepping up their response. The roadside bomb attack was one of the most lethal in months.
[Ham:] We are seeing larger amounts of explosives. We are seeing different techniques that are being used in an effort to counter the efforts of coalition and Iraqi security forces to protect folks while they are moving, different types of penetrators, different techniques of triggering the events.
[Starr:] On Monday, six Marines on a sniper patrol were killed by small arms fire. Five killed in the initial attack. The sixth was found dead three miles away. Jim Boskovitch believes it was his son, Corporal Jeffrey Boskovitch, the Marines found.
[Jim Boskovitch, Father Of Marine:] I would suspect that knowing my son that he was probably shot several times and given up for dead, and probably tried to head back in the direction in the river back to his base.
[Starr:] The violence that killed Jeffrey Boskovitch and 20 other Marines comes as Iraqi and U.S. officials are meeting to discuss where the country is secure enough for Iraqi forces to take charge and let U.S. troops come home. The U.S. ambassador subtly warning he is now worried about civil war.
[Zalmay Khalilzad, U.s. Ambassador To Iraq:] One of the biggest challenges facing Iraqis is overcoming the loss of trust among the communities. This underlies current political and sectarian tensions. In part, it also underlies the insurgency.
[Starr:] Wolf, the insurgent group Ansar al-Sunna has now posted a video on its Web site it claims shows a dead American. The Marines say they are looking at that video, trying to determine if it was a United States Marine killed by the insurgents Wolf.
[Blitzer:] We're not going to show that picture on CNN because it's so gruesome, is that right, Barbara?
[Starr:] That is correct, Wolf. The video is terribly disturbing. The Marines have expressed their condolences to the family of whoever this dead person is. It is simply not suitable for broadcasting, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] How extraordinary, Barbara, is the fact that these Marines were all based at this reserve unit in one small community outside of Cleveland, Ohio?
[Starr:] Wolf, it is it is very difficult business. This is a Marine Corps reserve unit, as you say, outside of Cleveland. They are on deployment to this particular area of western Iraq which has seen so much violence. It is not the first time they have suffered losses in this Marine Corps reserve unit. Now, the people who are part of the unit are from all over the country, although the unit itself is head quartered outside of Cleveland. There is mourning going on in so many families across the country tonight. It is not the first time they have suffered losses. This is all part of the insurgent stronghold in western Iraq where there appears to be unending violence Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Barbara Starr reporting for us. What a horrible, horrible day it has been. Thank you very much, Barbara, for that report. In Texas today, President Bush called the latest violence in Iraq a grim reminder that terrorists and insurgents are trying to shake the will of the United States and force an American retreat. He said they will fail.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] Men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and in this war on terror have died in a noble cause, and a selfless cause. Their families can know that American citizens pray for them. And the families can know that we will honor their loved one's sacrifice by completing the mission.
[Blitzer:] An American freelance journalist was shot dead today in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Steven Vincent's body was found shortly after he and his interpreter were abducted. A Western official says Vincent was shot multiple times. His interpreter was wounded. Reporters Without Borders, a watchdog group, says Vincent is the fourteenth foreign journalist killed in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003. According to that group, a total of 64 journalists and media assistants have been killed in Iraq during that same time period. Steven Vincent's most recent article was an op-ed column he wrote in the "New York Times" about a week or so ago about the growing role of Islam Islamic militants in Basra and their influence within the police force. Our deepest condolences to him, his family and to all those Marines and their families, as well. Insurgents have made Iraqi police the target of relentless attacks. But are they now working to try to cripple the police force from within? CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad.
[Aneesh Raman, Cnn Correspondent:] Iraq's interior ministry now confirming recent suggestions that insurgents have infiltrated the country's police force. It comes from an interview with CNN with the deputy minister. He says that cases like that had appeared but now policies are in place to mitigate against future possibilities. A recent joint report by the U.S. State and Defense Department says that the Iraqi police force had in its ranks men who were illiterate, men with criminal backgrounds, even insurgents. Now, this issue raises a number of key questions. First, can any of the new policies and more strenuous background checks, more extensive testing of new recruits, can any of that isolate the problem? Second, how will this affect the need of U.S. troops on the ground to rely on Iraqi security forces and Iraqi police for any troop reductions to take place in the coming year? And finally and perhaps more importantly, what does this mean for Iraqi civilians? If they can't turn to their own police, where can they? Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
[Blitzer:] Sighs of relief all around at NASA after an unprecedented space walk to fix a potentially serious problem with the Space Shuttle Discovery. CNN's John Zarrella is joining us now live from the Johnson Space Center near Houston. He has details John.
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, no question a big sense of relief here at the Johnson Space Center. And for our viewers, this is a piece of gap filler. It looks a little bit like sandpaper, thick sandpaper. But it is very, very smooth. And it's all it's all Steve Robinson was going after today in what was both a historic space walk and one that he made look easy.
[Robinson:] OK.
[Zarrella:] In the end, the space walk was a cakewalk.
[Robinson:] And I'm pulling. It's coming out very easily. Beautiful. Very nice. OK. I'll back away.
[Zarrella:] Astronaut Steve Robinson was prepared to move two pieces of gap filler from the shuttle's belly with forceps and even an improvised hacksaw if necessary. Turns out he was able to do it by hand.
[Robinson:] OK. That came out very easily. Probably even less force. It looks like this big patient is cured.
[Zarrella:] It's the first time NASA has tried to repair the exterior of a shuttle in flight, the need for that capability gravely learned from the Columbia disaster. The fear was that the exposed filler would create dangerous hot spots as Discovery reentered Earth's atmosphere. With his helmet-mounted camera beaming images never seen before, Robinson, perched on the space station's robotic arm, was maneuvered gingerly along the orbiter's fragile belly. NASA had allowed seven hours for the operation, but removing the filler went much quicker than expected, and the entire space walk lasted six hours. NASA officials were more than pleased.
[Paul Hill, Nasa Flight Director:] I was absolutely relieved, and I think you could probably hear the sigh of relief throughout the building over there. And when he pulled the second one out, it was a huge relief and it definitely felt like the rest is downhill from here.
[Zarrella:] Now attention turns to another potential problem: a damaged thermal blanket under one of the cockpit windows. There's concern it could tear away and strike the ship on reentry. Is it worth another space walk to fix? That's the next big decision NASA is facing.
[Hill:] If we decide to do something like that, we could make a bad situation worse. So we have to think real hard about sending somebody out there and taking that risk.
[Zarrella:] It was both good news and bad news that the gap filler came out so easily. For the mission team and for Steve Robinson, that made his job the cakewalk. But now engineers have to go back and figure out why that bonding material didn't hold not even a little bit Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. John Zarrella with the latest from there. Thanks very much, John, for that. Now the latest on a story we bought you live as it was breaking yesterday at this time, the crash landing of Air France Flight 358 in Toronto. The investigation now underway is being overshadowed by amazement that all 309 people on board that jumbo jet survived. CNN's Mary Snow is joining us now live from Toronto with the latest Mary.
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, the search for answers is moving forward. Investigators say they've retrieved the black boxes. They're hoping that they'll provide clues as to what caused yesterday's fiery crash. Meantime, passengers say today they're just lucky to be alive.
[Snow:] Within seconds, a moment of relief turned into panic. Passengers applauded what they thought was a successful landing in stormy weather. Seconds later, they found themselves running for their lives as Air France Flight 358 skidded off the runway and caught fire.
[John Abedrabbo, Passenger:] The landing seemed to be perfect. We just landed normally. It wasn't a crash landing. There was no problem with it. People started clapping a little bit later. And a couple of seconds after that, just all hell broke loose.
[Snow:] Now investigators are piecing together the final moments to find out what went wrong. While they are looking at all factors, they suggest weather is high on the list. The Airbus A340 landed in a thunderstorm at Pearson International. There was a lightning alert in force at the time and takeoffs had been suspended. Investigators are also talking to passengers and crew. Some have spoken of panic as passengers rushed to escape the plane. Air France confirms that not all the escape chutes deployed properly. Some passengers say they jumped.
[Ho:] When I got pushed out by the people behind me, I remember falling on top of two or three people.
[Snow:] The fire department says its first unit reached the scene within 52 seconds and that all the passengers were out within 90.
[Chief Mike Figliola, Greater Toronto Airports Authority:] Initially on our arrival, he was the last one. He done a quick walk through the plane from the front to back, to see that everybody was off. He came off and told our guys that at this point there was nobody left.
[Snow:] Once out, passengers feared explosions and ran to Canada's busiest highway just a few hundred yards away. Some were picked up by cars and buses. Within minutes, the plane was engulfed in flames. That there were no fatalities and only 43 people with minor injuries is amazing. Passengers like 19-year-old Alix Willemez will never forget how lucky they were.
[Alix Willemez, Passenger:] I feel glad. I'm safe and that's most important. And I lost everything, but that doesn't matter. I'm in Canada and that's great.
[Snow:] Many people expressing their gratitude today. We could be getting an update soon on some more answers. Transportation officials are holding a briefing at 5:30 Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. Mary Snow reporting for us. Thanks, Mary, very much. We'll continue our coverage of the crash of Air France Flight 358 with the former FAA chief of staff. He's standing by. He'll join us next. Also ahead, DNA justice. Hear from the man who spent almost 20 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. Plus, a bittersweet ending in the saga of a brain dead woman and her unborn child. Our Brian Todd has the latest on this story. And later, affairs of the heart. Is it still cheating, even if there's no sex? We'll talk about that. Stay with us.