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CNN Live Today
Allied Troops Scour Mountains After Operation Anaconda
Aired March 14, 2002 - 10:11 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The thunder of exploding bombs and intense firefights has quieted down for now, but the Pentagon says Operation Anaconda is not over. More than 1,000 U.S. and allied forces are scouring the mountainsides looking for remaining Taliban and al Qaeda that may be hiding.
Our Nic Robertson was out there with the troops doing the searching. He accompanied the coalition forces, and he has just returned with some dramatic new images for us. Let's check in with him now. Nic joins us from Gardez, in eastern Afghanistan.
Hello, Nic, good to see you.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Leon.
Today, U.S. Special Forces were keeping journalists out of the area of shah-e-Kot that we got into yesterday. That was the focus of the Operation Anaconda. What the U.S. Special Forces were doing along with Afghans was scouring the area of Operation Anaconda, looking for any Taliban elements that may still be hiding out there.
What we did today was we went around the outside of Operation Anaconda and down one of the main highways that many people thought escaping al Qaeda and escaping Taliban might seek go, in the direction of Pakistan.
There were some very serious checkpoints out on the road there. We met with Afghan fighters, who were working under the supervision of U.S. Special Forces, manning those roadblocks. They told us that in the last few days, they had only captured three al Qaeda members trying to flee Operation Anaconda. They say they handed those members over to U.S. Special Forces.
Now, interestingly, by the time we came back later in the day, these checkpoints were being taken down, perhaps indication that Special Forces do not expect any more al Qaeda members to try and head in the direction of Pakistan.
Also, coalition B-52 bombers circling overhead. We have seen some bombs exploding on the mountains, smoke and dust rising up from the mountains. But interestingly, just as we arrived back in this town, Gardez, at nightfall, we saw several vehicles containing U.S. Special Forces operatives heading out for a nighttime operation. They had on the nighttime vision goggles. They had communications equipment strapped on. They were headed off down a dirt road towards the front lines -- Leon.
HARRIS: Nic, let me ask you about the numbers of dead that you seen, or if you have seen that many, because there are reports that perhaps -- we have been hearing from the folks that we have been talking to, who have been briefing us, that there were some 800 Taliban or al Qaeda fighters there who have been killed. But no one we that we have talked to yet has actually seen evidence of there being that many people in there. Did you see evidence that would give you that kind of an idea?
ROBERTSON: Indeed, not. That's exactly what people have been telling us, Afghan commanders saying between 1,000 and 2,000 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters. We saw three bodies, and we have also heard reports now of three al Qaeda being captured, some other, perhaps a dozen or so, al Qaeda captured during the fighting. It doesn't so far add up to those high numbers of Taliban and al Qaeda that we heard were hiding out in this area.
We have also been told, not only by U.S. commanders, but by Afghan commanders, there are a number of cave complexes in that area. We haven't been able to get to them yet. The area, we are told, is heavily mined. We haven't found anyone who can lead us to those cave areas, safely at least. And until we do get to those caves or until U.S. Special Force operatives or Afghan fighters can get into those caves and bring out the bodies, perhaps we are not going to see the true body count. So far, no indication of the those significantly high numbers we'd initially heard about -- Leon.
HARRIS: Very interesting. Nic Robertson, nice job, and way to go. Stay safe. Keep up the good work. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Hope to see you again. We'll talk with you later on this morning.
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