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CNN Live Today
Operation Anaconda May Be in Final Hours, But Still Plenty of Action in Afghanistan
Aired March 18, 2002 - 11:09 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right next door in Afghanistan, the U.S. military is about to shed Operation Anaconda. The military campaign in eastern Afghanistan is expected to conclude within the next few hours. It is believed at least 500 Taliban and Al Qaeda forces were killed in the massive assault. For the past week or so, U.S., Canadian and Afghan troops have been searching the nooks and the crannies of the mountains for remaining enemy fighters.
CNN's Martin Savidge is with the troops at Bagram Air Base -- Marty.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol, as you mentioned, Operation Anaconda, the soldiers, about 750 of them that were involved in the final days, should now be heading on their way back to Bagram Air Base. And that essentially means that Operation Anaconda after 17 days is heading for the history books as the largest military operation in the war in Afghanistan so far. There were 11 coalition soldiers that lost their lives, three Afghani, eight American, and over 70 soldiers that were wounded. Thousands more participated in and out of fighting that took place.
We want to show you some incredible footage that was taking in the last waning hours of Operation Anaconda, from an AH-1-H attack helicopter, known as a "Cobra", flown by the U.S. Marines. They have a number of these, participated throughout Operation Anaconda. These are like high-performance fighter jets, if you will. Only they're helicopters, flying sometimes at speeds up to 200 miles per hour, yanking and banking, turning and twisting, offering the close air support for the soldiers on the ground.
We'll also show you a shot here of missiles as they fire off the rails. These missiles were used to go up against the remaining targets, the remaining pocket of Al Qaeda and Taliban. Also used to destroy the cave openings. Caves of course were a great problem for the soldiers on the ground, because the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces could hide.
Some very interesting pictures. The soldiers refer to neat stuff like that as very high speed.
There was another very high speed sort of ceremony, but a solemn one there. General Tommy Frank, the overall commander of war in Afghanistan, made a trip from the United States to be here at the Bagram base to hand out five bronze stars for valor and meritorious conduct to soldiers in the early days during that intense fighting when it all began. He pinned the medals on the chests of those soldiers, and for many of the people gathered inside the hangar, it was an extremely proud moment. He is proud not only of the soldiers and what they did, but also very happy with the way that operation anaconda finished in the end.
He also pointed out that this is not the end of the war. There are future missions to come. He also says he knows where the next strike will be, but he is not going to tell anyone. He will let the U.S. and the coalition forces do the talking when the time is right -- Carol.
LIN: Marty, you said that the ceremony today was a solemn one, but in general, what's the mood like amongst the soldiers, the men there?
SAVIDGE: Well, you know, it's kind of interesting, I ask that question a lot of the soldiers. Morale is very high, no doubt about it. There is a certain sense of confidence. They've been there. They've done that. But there is -- there's also a tempering with the realization of now they've been in combat, and it is a fearful thing, having been out there myself, and a soldier does not necessarily want to lose that fear. You don't want to become overconfident. You don't want to go in there and believe, all right, this won't be so bad this time around, because it is that edge that fear gives you that actually keeps you sharp and probably saves your live.
So they are proud to have been part of the mission. Are they looking forward to the next one? I would say, no. And that's probably very healthy -- Carol.
LIN: Yes, very healthy and very human. Thanks so much, Martin Savidge, reporting live from Bagram air base.
A lot of those guys have been there since November.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It's amazing what they've accomplished, too.
LIN: We've also got some other news coming from out of that region. We've learned today that U.S. commandos in Afghanistan have intercepted a group of fleeing Al Qaeda fighters. For more on this and other developments, let's go now to Pentagon, our correspondent Barbara Starr standing by as usual there.
Hello, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Leon.
Well, Operation Anaconda may be in it's final hours, but there still has been plenty of action.
U.S. commandos staged a ground assault yesterday against a convoy of Al Qaeda vehicles that was apparently escaping south of the fighting area. This all happened after several hours of watching this vehicle. The assault finally occurred about 70 kilometers, 40-45 miles south of Gardez. Sixteen people were killed, one injured, one captured. A fourth vehicle in the area was also stopped, but it was found to contain a family, and it was released. Now this convoy was full of weapons, ammunitions, indicators that the Pentagon says that these people were Al Qaeda and that they were trying to get out of the area.
It's not clear at this point whether they offered any resistance or whether a firefight broke out, but it does underscore the U.S. is still very concerned about the escape routes from eastern Afghanistan and any Al Qaeda that may be trying to get out to Pakistan or deeper into southern Afghanistan -- Leon.
HARRIS: Barbara, what's the thinking there, the concerns there about how many more people may have actually gotten out, and may have gotten through this, whatever sieve hole they may have slipped through, back into Afghanistan now?
STARR: Well, the honest answer from Pentagon officials they will tell you is they simply don't know. Their sense is that there are not large numbers that have gotten out of the area, but they don't honestly have a very good fix on it. They have kept reconnaissance, or watch, over as many of the escape routes as they can. Their best sense is that it has been small groups that have attempted to escape, but they say at this point they're honestly not just sure, and that's one of the reasons they are looking at other pockets of Al Qaeda and Taliban around Afghanistan and getting ready to move against those if they decide they need to.
HARRIS: All right, let me ask you about something else a little closer to home here. What is the word there on the air patrols that have been flying over the airspace here over the states? Word that they may be coming to an end soon or what?
STARR: We'll, we've learned that the air patrols, the 24-hour, around-the-clock air patrols over New York City are going to change. There will no longer be the continuous air patrols. They will be replaced by intermittent patrols. When perhaps circumstances warrant or there's special events, such as the president is New York City, there will also be more airplanes on strip alert. In other words, they will be on the ground, but ready to move into the air at a moment's notice if there is trouble.
The Pentagon and the White House, however, have decided, for the time being, they will keep continuous air patrol over Washington D.C. They tell us they were able to make this change in New York City because of improved aviation security, more federal marshals, stronger cockpit doors, better security at the airports -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right, good deal. Barbara Starr, at the Pentagon. Thank you.
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