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CNN Live At Daybreak

Large Military Operation Now Underway in Southeast Afghanistan

Aired May 17, 2002 - 09:14   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to turn back now to the War in Afghanistan. As we have been reporting this morning, a large military operation is now underway where allied troops are battling what is being called a substantial enemy force in southeast Afghanistan. Our own Anderson Cooper is in Kabul. He is on assignment, and we're going to check in with him right now.

Good morning Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. As you mentioned, Operation Condor is underway. Now CNN has just learned, in the last few minutes some new information. This from a source in the Afghan Defense Ministry. According to this source, as many as 4000 Afghan government troops left Kabul yesterday, heading toward the eastern part of Afghanistan toward the Paktia. This the same region where Operation Condor is known to be underway.

We do not know if those troops are to be involved in Operation Condor. But what we do know about the operation is that as many as 1000 British and Australian forces with heavy US air support - mainly Cobra Attack Helicopters and AC-130 Spectre Gun Ships - have been deployed from Bagran Airbase last night to the eastern part of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. This, after two squads of Australian Special Forces, the SAS came under fire from what is believed to be al Qaida and Taliban troops.

There have been no casualties as of yet reported among the coalition forces. Several - and again the word "several" was used - casualties among the al Qaida and/or Taliban troops on the ground there. Again, as far as we know, the fighting continues in the eastern part of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. Paula.

ZAHN: All right, thanks so much, Anderson.

Anderson Cooper on the ground in Afghanistan.

Now on to the Pentagon where we have brand new information about a heroic last stand during an earlier mission in Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda, the largest and deadliest fighting of the war so far. CNN's Barbara Starr joins us now with her exclusive story.

Good morning, Barbara.

STARR: Well there is new information this morning about the opening hours of Operation Anaconda, the men who fought to save, not themselves, but to save each other. CNN has learned that the Special Forces community has now completed the classified report on how seven men died in the opening hours of Operation Anaconda. And there are some disturbing new details, not known until now. We have learned that the Navy SEAL, Petty Officer Neal Roberts (ph) was on the ground in Afghanistan by himself under enemy gunfire for more than half an hour in close combat - in a close firefight - with al Qaida fighters, before a rescue force could get to him. They were struggling to get to him by helicopter.

Roberts eventually ran out of ammunition. He was overrun by enemy forces and shot at very close range. Some of his colleagues still say that was an execution, although now there is no indication that he was actually captured by enemy forces. And of course, Roberts is the man who fell out of his helicopter when it was first hit by rocket fire. A six-man rescue force then went in to try and get Roberts. They believed he was still alive, but of course he was not at that time. Another man was killed in heavy enemy gunfire as part of that rescue force. Another rescue force would have to go in, and it would be nearly 18 hours before everyone was brought out. Paula.

ZAHN: Barbara Starr, sad details, but I guess everybody, sort of, predicted that Neal Roberts had a heroic struggle. Troubling to hear that.

STARR: They did, and now they - they hope now to be able to tell the families exactly how their loved ones died. That is the real purpose of this report.

ZAHN: All right Barbara Starr, thanks for that update.

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