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CNN Live At Daybreak

In New Allied Ground Offensive in Afghanistan, Air Support Can be Seen for Miles

Aired March 05, 2002 - 05:01   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Even though the new allied ground offensive in Afghanistan is going on in a remote, mountainous region, the supporting air campaign can be seen for miles.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Ghazni with more.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of air activity over this city of Ghazni this morning. About 50 miles to the east of here is the front line. We can see what appear to be B-52 bombers circling in the sky. As we approached this region yesterday we were able to see AWACs aircraft and B-52 bombers. We could see plumes of smoke rising up off the distant mountain ridge line, which is where, which is just south of the city of Gardez, which is where the offensive is still under way. It certainly appears to be under way right now.

Also, overnight we could hear intense activity by what sounded like unmanned aircraft, the drone aircraft used for reconnaissance. They sounded as if they were flying quite low over this area.

Speaking to regional officials here, they are concerned in the province of Ghazni, neighboring Paktia Province, which is the province where the offensive is under way, they are concerned about a resurgence of al Qaeda groups here, who they believe have been regrouping in a city, a town about 30 miles south of here, Karabakh. They say that al Qaeda forces launched an offensive on that town, although they say that regional forces have regained control over the town. But they are concerned that as spring approaches, al Qaeda members who have laid low through the winter, three months since December, will have regrouped and are now beginning to launch guerrilla offensives.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Ghazni, Afghanistan.

COSTELLO: Top U.S. officials say the campaign in Afghanistan is entering a dangerous phase.

And as CNN military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports, more American casualties are expected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The highest U.S. combat death toll of the war came when a special operations helicopter like this one returned to a hostile landing zone to retrieve the body of a soldier killed earlier.

GENERAL TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: The forces on that helicopter got off the helicopter and immediately came in contact with the enemy force, and that is the place that the casualties came from.

MCINTYRE: Six soldiers were killed, 11 wounded in the firefight. The first helicopter had been hit by a rocket propelled grenade, but was able to crash land safely a half mile away, only to discover one crew member was missing.

FRANKS: The helicopter was, in fact, struck but was still flyable. As the pilot lifted the helicopter off, I believe one crew member may have fallen from the helicopter. I do not believe that that was recognized immediately.

MCINTYRE: U.S. troops eventually secured the area and rescued the survivors. But more casualties are expected, especially with U.S. Apache gun ships and A-10 assault planes conducting risky low level attacks.

The four star general in charge says the combat deaths are to be expected as the war enters a more dangerous phase in which air power alone can't get the job done.

FRANKS: The sure way to do work against the enemy is to put people on the ground and that's what we've done in this case.

MCINTYRE: The mission in the snowy mountains has been dubbed Operation Anaconda after the tropical snake that kills its prey by suffocating it in its coils. Some 2,000 troops, including more than 1,000 U.S., 800 Afghan and 200 coalition forces, have surrounded a 60 to 70 square mile area and have killed as many as half of the 400 or so al Qaeda troops believed holed up there in small groups.

GENERAL RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: In this operation we knew that the al Qaeda and their supporters there would have two choices -- to run or stay and fight. It seems they have chosen to stay and to fight to the last, and we hope to accommodate them.

MCINTYRE: Asked if the U.S. military was caught off guard by the ferocity of the al Qaeda resistance, senior Pentagon officials insisted to CNN the answer was no. But two senior military officers, including the chairman of the joint chiefs, made a point of saying it would be inappropriate to second guess the commander in the field, especially when senior officials here were fully briefed and signed off on the plane.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: President Bush says he's saddened by the latest deaths of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. But Mr. Bush says Americans should expect more anti-terror operations that could result in more casualties. Mr. Bush spoke during a Republican fundraiser in Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America must realize this is a dangerous phase of this war and we lost life today. And I know all of us mourn for the family members who have lost their life. But I can assure them that the cause is just. Defending freedom and defending the homeland is a noble and just cause and I hope they're as proud of them as I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mr. Bush hosts Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the White House today for talks on the Middle East peace process.

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