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Reports of Attack on U.S. Special Forces Base in Afghanistan

Aired September 20, 2002 - 05:05   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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Overnight, reports of an attack on a U.S. special forces base in eastern Afghanistan. No American casualties, but we do understand the fighting lasted from one to two hours.
Joining us from Kabul with more on this is our Mike Chinoy -- Mike, what happened?

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, there was a very serious firefight in eastern Afghanistan just near the city of Khowst. That's an area where U.S. forces have been operating in recent weeks, looking for Taliban and al Qaeda remnants.

Shortly before dawn, according to the U.S. military, several 107 millimeter rockets were fired near the U.S. installation and this was followed by small arms fire and light machine gun fire. The U.S. forces replied with mortars and had to call in air support. A10 aircraft came in, dropping rockets and firing hundreds of rounds from the Gatling guns perched on the nose of the aircraft.

There were no U.S. casualties and U.S. patrols were then dispatched into the nearby area to try and find out whether there were any casualties among the attackers.

This is not the only unnerving incident in the last day or so. In the southern city of Kandahar, which used to be the Taliban's main stronghold, two gunmen wearing burkhas, the head to toe veils that Afghan women wear, two men wearing these outfits got out of a car and opened fire in a crowded market, seriously wounding a couple of Afghan soldiers.

And here in Kabul, the government is reporting the discovery of an anti-aircraft missile just on the outskirts of the city, primed and ready to be fired. Officials here concerned that that might have been designed to target aircraft coming in and out of Kabul's main airport, both civilian and military aircraft.

All these incidents together underscoring the fact that this is still a very insecure situation, not only for U.S. troops, but more broadly throughout the country -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, you're right, Mike. I think that many Americans are distracted by all of the talk of the U.S. possibly attacking Iraq and we forget what's still going on in Afghanistan.

CHINOY: That's correct. In fact, in the last couple of weeks there have been a series of incidents. There have been rocket attacks aimed at U.S. forces, especially in the eastern part of the country bordering Afghanistan, where the search for al Qaeda and Taliban is at its height.

What is significant about the firefight reported on Friday is that this is the first time in a while that the attackers have actually stood their ground for more than an hour exchanging fire back and forth with U.S. forces. Definitely an escalation, a much bolder kind of approach on the part of the attackers.

It's not clear who these attackers were, by the way. There are no shortage of suspects -- Taliban, al Qaeda, disgruntled local warlords. It could have been any of them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's crazy.

Thank you.

Mike Chinoy reporting live for us from Afghanistan this morning.

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Afghanistan>


Aired September 20, 2002 - 05:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Overnight, reports of an attack on a U.S. special forces base in eastern Afghanistan. No American casualties, but we do understand the fighting lasted from one to two hours.
Joining us from Kabul with more on this is our Mike Chinoy -- Mike, what happened?

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, there was a very serious firefight in eastern Afghanistan just near the city of Khowst. That's an area where U.S. forces have been operating in recent weeks, looking for Taliban and al Qaeda remnants.

Shortly before dawn, according to the U.S. military, several 107 millimeter rockets were fired near the U.S. installation and this was followed by small arms fire and light machine gun fire. The U.S. forces replied with mortars and had to call in air support. A10 aircraft came in, dropping rockets and firing hundreds of rounds from the Gatling guns perched on the nose of the aircraft.

There were no U.S. casualties and U.S. patrols were then dispatched into the nearby area to try and find out whether there were any casualties among the attackers.

This is not the only unnerving incident in the last day or so. In the southern city of Kandahar, which used to be the Taliban's main stronghold, two gunmen wearing burkhas, the head to toe veils that Afghan women wear, two men wearing these outfits got out of a car and opened fire in a crowded market, seriously wounding a couple of Afghan soldiers.

And here in Kabul, the government is reporting the discovery of an anti-aircraft missile just on the outskirts of the city, primed and ready to be fired. Officials here concerned that that might have been designed to target aircraft coming in and out of Kabul's main airport, both civilian and military aircraft.

All these incidents together underscoring the fact that this is still a very insecure situation, not only for U.S. troops, but more broadly throughout the country -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, you're right, Mike. I think that many Americans are distracted by all of the talk of the U.S. possibly attacking Iraq and we forget what's still going on in Afghanistan.

CHINOY: That's correct. In fact, in the last couple of weeks there have been a series of incidents. There have been rocket attacks aimed at U.S. forces, especially in the eastern part of the country bordering Afghanistan, where the search for al Qaeda and Taliban is at its height.

What is significant about the firefight reported on Friday is that this is the first time in a while that the attackers have actually stood their ground for more than an hour exchanging fire back and forth with U.S. forces. Definitely an escalation, a much bolder kind of approach on the part of the attackers.

It's not clear who these attackers were, by the way. There are no shortage of suspects -- Taliban, al Qaeda, disgruntled local warlords. It could have been any of them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's crazy.

Thank you.

Mike Chinoy reporting live for us from Afghanistan this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Afghanistan>