On The Scene: Missiles In Baghdad

Dan Rather Reports On Stockpiles Of Russian Missiles

(CBS)  All over Baghdad, U.S. military forces were doing their jobs today. At dawn, Special Forces carried out a surgical strike in Baghdad. Their target was some of Saddam's remaining Republican Guards and determined Mujahadeen fighters. The Special Forces support heavy armor.

In another part of the city, Marines began the battle of helping Iraqis to rebuild this ravaged city.

"If they go back to the power plant they can turn it on and you'll have electricity," says Marine gunnery sergeant Sandor Vegh.

But one Baghdad neighborhood has a bigger problem.

The residents here have found about 20 very large rockets, to which the Marines replied, "We'll get them out of here, thank you."

The Marines went to search for the weapons in one of the many directions they were pointed. We went in another and this is what we found: Russian made "FROG" surface-to-surface missiles, right in the middle of Baghdad in plain sight. And not just a few, but as many as 50.

Whether these rockets contain chemical or biological agents is unknown and while they normally have a range of 50 miles, they could have been modified to travel farther, which would violate U.N. weapons regulations. What is known is that this neighborhood is living with enough firepower to blow up all of Baghdad.

"This stuff is very dangerous and we are afraid there will be explosions on us and maybe killed," says Farrawk Hasson.

And that's not all the fleeing Iraqi army left behind. The area is littered with unexploded ordinances and artillery. Abdul-Razok Hamdan will be tethered to his 4-year-old daughter until someone can clean up this mess.

"We need anyone to come to remove all the bombs and rockets to remove the danger for our family," said Hamdan.

The U.S. Marines didn't get to this site before we left. By then the people here had taken on the dangerous job of cleaning up the ordinances themselves. But with the countless jobs the Marines are taking on, there's no way to know if they'll be able to make it here any time soon.