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CNN Live Saturday
Kuwaiti Government Ties al Qaeda to Attack on U.S. Marines
Aired October 12, 2002 - 15:29 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In Kuwait now, an official says there appears to be an al Qaeda connection in the recent attack on U.S. Marines. Our Martin Savidge is live via videophone from Kuwait City. Hi there, Marty.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening to you, Fredricka. The Kuwait government is saying tonight, by the grace of God, they have managed to put a stop to a terrorist cell that had been operating here in Kuwait, a group that had already carried out a successful attack against U.S. Marines during a training attack on Tuesday, an attack that left one Marine dead and another seriously wounded and a group that is planning further attacks.
The minister of interior, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, says that now 15 members of that group are now in custody and that they have confessed to not only helping to be a part of that attack on the Marines, but also planning attacks against what the Kuwaitis say were five other sites described as American or foreign interests. Now, during interrogation, these group members reportedly said they had to whittle down their list of potential targets, because they found during surveillance that a number of those sites were just too heavily guarded. The Kuwaiti government is downplaying any real strong connection. They were not saying that this is an al Qaeda cell; they are only saying that the leader, 21-year-old Anas al- Khandari, was apparently -- had sworn his allegiance to Osama bin Laden. They say there is no evidence to suggest the attack on the Marines was directly ordered from the al Qaeda leadership.
As you know, the 21-year-old al-Khandari was killed, along with his 26-year-old cousin. They were the ones that struck at the Marines; they were killed in the return of fire. Right now the Kuwaiti government is saying, essentially, this is case closed, with the exception of one small item.
It was during the news conference that the minister of interior expressed some frustration, even some anger, at the U.S. Marines, saying that it took them three to four hours to report to the Kuwaiti government that there had been a terrorist attack on Kuwaiti soil, and that reportedly Kuwaiti security forces were initially prevented from getting on their own island. The interior minister says that he is sure the Marines have a very good explanation and he is standing by, waiting to hear it. He hopes it is going to come from a team of U.S. investigators expected either later tonight or tomorrow, a team that includes FBI agents that will be looking into the murder of the U.S. Marine -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Marty, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Marines>
Aired October 12, 2002 - 15:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In Kuwait now, an official says there appears to be an al Qaeda connection in the recent attack on U.S. Marines. Our Martin Savidge is live via videophone from Kuwait City. Hi there, Marty.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening to you, Fredricka. The Kuwait government is saying tonight, by the grace of God, they have managed to put a stop to a terrorist cell that had been operating here in Kuwait, a group that had already carried out a successful attack against U.S. Marines during a training attack on Tuesday, an attack that left one Marine dead and another seriously wounded and a group that is planning further attacks.
The minister of interior, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, says that now 15 members of that group are now in custody and that they have confessed to not only helping to be a part of that attack on the Marines, but also planning attacks against what the Kuwaitis say were five other sites described as American or foreign interests. Now, during interrogation, these group members reportedly said they had to whittle down their list of potential targets, because they found during surveillance that a number of those sites were just too heavily guarded. The Kuwaiti government is downplaying any real strong connection. They were not saying that this is an al Qaeda cell; they are only saying that the leader, 21-year-old Anas al- Khandari, was apparently -- had sworn his allegiance to Osama bin Laden. They say there is no evidence to suggest the attack on the Marines was directly ordered from the al Qaeda leadership.
As you know, the 21-year-old al-Khandari was killed, along with his 26-year-old cousin. They were the ones that struck at the Marines; they were killed in the return of fire. Right now the Kuwaiti government is saying, essentially, this is case closed, with the exception of one small item.
It was during the news conference that the minister of interior expressed some frustration, even some anger, at the U.S. Marines, saying that it took them three to four hours to report to the Kuwaiti government that there had been a terrorist attack on Kuwaiti soil, and that reportedly Kuwaiti security forces were initially prevented from getting on their own island. The interior minister says that he is sure the Marines have a very good explanation and he is standing by, waiting to hear it. He hopes it is going to come from a team of U.S. investigators expected either later tonight or tomorrow, a team that includes FBI agents that will be looking into the murder of the U.S. Marine -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Marty, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Marines>
