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CNN Live Saturday

U.S. Warplanes Kill Civilians Near Jalalabad

Aired December 01, 2001 - 16:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to take you now to Eastern Afghanistan, where the caves and tunnels outside of Jalalabad are thought to be prime al Qaeda hiding places. And thus prime targets of U.S. airstrikes.

The region's so-called security chief says that strikes overnight, however, killed a number of civilians. But he also says he understands America's reasons for hitting al Qaeda and their Taliban protectors. Now the Pentagon says it's looking into the reports of innocent casualties, but points out one such claim from earlier in the war proved groundless.

Let's get the latest now from CNN's Brent Sadler. And we should warn you that some of these pictures are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An American B-52 bomber flies over Jalalabad. A likely mission, to weaken or destroy mountain fortifications at Tora Bora, some 35 miles or 60 kilometers south of the city, high priority U.S. target. The pursuit of which, it's claimed here, has inflicted heavy loss of life among Afghan villagers living close to Tora Bora.

Doctors say two children, boys aged ten and eight are among the bombing casualties. Noorma Mohammed lost both his hands and is said to be in critical condition. In the next bed, Ikbal Udin is also suffering severe injuries, which this survivor claims, through a translator, were inflicted by an air strike.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says there were 12 persons in our family. I was outside of my room. And the airplane bombs entered to my home. And I saw all of the people were killed.

SADLER: Already this week, a tribal delegation from the danger zone complained to Jalalabad's authorities that American bombing was damaging farmland and killing livestock. Jalalabad's security chief told reporters that up to 50 villagers had been killed in the latest bombing raid. He expressed sorrow for the loss of life, but understanding for the air campaign. A campaign, which during the past two months, has driven several thousand refugees to this tent encampment outside the city.

(on camera): Continued U.S. bombing exacerbates the chronic civilian hardships, say authorities here, now pressing for U.S. military assistance to help mujahideen fighters clear this region of suspected al Qaeda and Taliban hideouts.

(voice-over): That kind of military operation, authorities here say, will be in the interests of all.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Jalalabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: We're going to go right to the Pentagon now and talk with CNN's Jonathan Aiken about any reaction from the Pentagon on these reports of what happened outside Tora Bora.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: None specifically so far, Catherine. The U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida says before it can make any comment one way or the other, it has to study what the military calls the imagery from these bombing runs.

And by that, they mean the videos, the films taken actually from within the war planes themselves. Also possibly any videos that were taken from guided weapons that may have been used in an attack. There's also reconnaissance flights that are often flown after bombing missions, just to see how things worked out. And of course, there's the debriefing of the pilots themselves.

The U.S. military says it has to go through these steps to look at this material and review the material, before it can determine whether or not the U.S. was in fact involved.

You touched early on why Tora Bora is a target. Let's go to a map and show you specifically what we're talking about. Tora Bora is an area about 35 miles to the south of Jalalabad. It is an area that's filled with caves, riddled with tunnels. And it is thought that this big military cave and tunnel complex that has been a frequent and heavy target of U.S. airstrikes in the past few days may be used by al Qaeda forces, possibly by Osama bin Laden.

It was developed at first, for the benefit of the mujahideen who were resistant to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the subsequent attacks through the '80s. So this base of Tora Bora actually had some history to it.

Tora Bora not the only target, however. The White mountains near Jalalabad also hit. It's thought that a core of 600 non-Afghan Taliban fighters and al Qaeda forces are holed up in mountain areas there. And U.S. war planes went after them on Saturday.

Also in Kandahar, in the southern part of the country, the last Taliban stronghold, heavy bombing reported today in and around the city's airport. And it's interesting that Jalalabad and Kandahar remain the targets of choice for the Pentagon, in that you can see some thinking from U.S. defense officials. The Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told CNN that he thinks at the end of it all, the U.S.-led coalition will be victorious, but he can't say that's going to happen any time soon. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I can't. The situation is so difficult. And I would say that it's not just in southern Afghanistan, but throughout the country. It is -- it looks as though it's reasonably settled in the northern and western portions. And it's pretty clear it's still unsettled in the Kandahar and Jalalabad area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: We should mention Defense Secretary Rumsfeld being interviewed for "EVANS, NOVAK, HUNT & SHIELDS," which will be coming up shortly on CNN

One other item to pass along, Catherine, that attack in the Kandahar region by the airport prompted claims from the Taliban earlier this morning that they had shot down a U.S. aircraft, claims emphatically denied by U.S. officials -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, Jonathan, we should also say that the Bush administration has said all along that they are civilian casualties in any war. Some could have been expected in this one. In fact, civilian casualties are what happened September 11, which led to the airstrikes in Afghanistan. Do we -- could you tell us one quick thing about Tora Bora? You said this is a mountainous region? Is it known to have a lot of civilian population around that area?

AIKEN: Well, the area around Tora Bora is somewhat sparsely populated. And from reports that I have seen and read from elsewhere, people who use that cave complex have often contracted with people in neighboring villages and in the valleys below to run errands for them, to get food, to help to avoid surveillance.

It is not in the middle of a heavily populated area. And while there are mountain settlements in these region, and there are pockets of civilian populations scattered within spaces within the mountains, one official with the Central Command told us a few hours ago that many of the targets being chosen in that area and in the white mountain area of Jalalabad are in areas of relative wilderness, and that there are not large pockets of population.

And in fact, that serves the people who use these caves well. Because on the one hand, a civilian population around them would actually protect them from U.S. airstrikes. But on the other hand, having a lot of movement in these areas might also attract undue attention.

CALLAWAY: All right.

AIKEN: And so, for that reason, they think these caves are somewhat separate.

CALLAWAY: Thank you, Jonathan. Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon.

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