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CNN Live Today

Explosions Rock Kabul

Aired June 18, 2002 - 14:39   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: We're going to turn now to Kabul. Two explosions happened in Kabul. Our Gary Tuchman is there covering the Loya Jirga. We have been talking about this grand assembly, this meeting to form a new government there. And now, within the past hour or so, Gary said that there were two loud explosions near the Kabul headquarters where the international troops are based.

Gary, anything more that you can tell us?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It was 90 minutes ago, to be precise, we heard two loud explosions in the middle of Kabul. We are being told by officials with the international security assistance force, those two explosions were two rockets that were launched, and one of the rockets landed in a Soviet-built housing project.

There was some slight damage to the housing project, but we are told that there are no causalities, no injuries whatsoever. One of the other rockets landed in an open area -- no damage at all.

Who shot out these rockets? Authorities say the obvious suspects are al Qaeda, Taliban or Taliban sympathizers. But right now they do not know who shot it and they don't know where it was shot from. There's obvious concern, because as you just mentioned, the Loya Jirga has now been meeting for eight days -- that's the grand assembly trying to form a new government in this country.

They've been on guard, ISAF forces telling us, for this possibility of violence. And tonight it has happened. Two rockets launched. Fortunately nobody hurt. But they were expecting the possibility of such events and that's why they were on guard for it happening.

One thing they're telling us: they believe it's likely that the rockets were crude. These types of rockets are often propped on rocks, and that's why it's very unlikely that a housing project would be a target. We can tell you this was several miles away from the U.S. embassy, several miles away from the headquarters of the international security assistance forces, and several miles away from where the delegates -- the 1,650 delegates in the Loya Jirga -- are meeting.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: OK. All right, Gary Tuchman live from Kabul, thank you very much.

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