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CNN Live At Daybreak

First Planeload of Israelis Wounded in Kenya Returns to Israel

Aired November 29, 2002 - 05:02   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.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the first planeload of Israelis wounded in the Kenya bombing returned to Israel this morning.
Let's go to CNN's Mike Hanna, who's in Jerusalem, for the very latest -- Mike.

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Catherine, Israelis counting the cost of terror at home and abroad. Abroad, that attack in the port city of Mombasa in Kenya, where at least three Israelis were killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel and a missile narrowly missing an Israeli charter aircraft as it left that port city.

Well, a number of the wounded being brought back in Israel in the course of the morning. Israel had sent out a number of Hercules aircraft with Israeli rescue teams and medical officials to pick up the wounded, some 20 wounded in that attack, it is believed. They are being brought back to Israel to receive further treatment here.

Also being brought back to Israel, those Israeli tourists who were in Kenya who wish to return in the wake of those attacks.

But also an attack within Israel, in the northern Israeli town of Beit Shean. There, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a group of Israelis near the city's central bus station. Six Israelis were killed in that attack, two Palestinian gunmen were shot at the scene by soldiers.

All of this on a day in which Israelis, or Likud Party members, were voting in their primaries, choosing who would lead the Likud Party in the elections due to take place in Israel in January.

The hands down winner by nearly 20 percent, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But Mr. Sharon made clear that yesterday was not a time for celebration and his victory speech last night making absolutely clear his determination to resist what he believes were acts intended to endanger Israel's democracy, and saying as well that Israel would find those responsible for the attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We have to be able to take out those who carry out the attacks and those who sent them. Israel will combat mercilessly those who engage in bloodletting. We are a strong people and we will not give in to terrorism. We are a people which stands fast, fights and will prevail, and we will prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNA: The election campaign now well under way. Ariel Sharon coming up against the man recently elected leader of the Labor Party, Amram Mitzna, the ex-mayor or present mayor of Haifa. So that election campaign under way, but events within the 24 hours an indication and a threat that it's an election campaign that will take place against a backdrop of ongoing violence -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you very much for that update.

That's Mike Hanna in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, U.S. Embassy officials in Kenya plan to meet today with Israeli and Kenyan investigators to talk about possible American assistance in the investigation there. President Bush has condemned the attacks. He said, "They underscore the continuing willingness of those opposed to peace to commit horrible crimes. Those who seek peace must do everything in their power to dismantle the infrastructure of terror that makes such actions possible."

Now let's see if we can get some more information about the suspects that were arrested in connection with these attacks in Kenya.

Let's go to CNN's Catherine Bond. She's joining us by video phone from Mombasa -- Catherine, what's the very latest on these suspects?

CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kenya's chief of police is now saying that 12 people are being held for questioning. The Kenyan police make a distinction between arresting people on suspicion of involvement in attacks and just holding people for questioning in order to extract useful information from them as they see it. He says that a couple of people who were arrested, or rather picked up here last night at nearby hotel, are giving the police useful information. That couple is said to have been holding American passports by hotel staff. So we know the Kenyan police are talking to people who they feel have some information concerning these attacks.

CALLAWAY: Catherine, do we know how many suspects are being questioned at this time?

BOND: A dozen, we're told by Kenya's chief of police. The numbers have varied. We are told that the police picked up two people here in this vicinity last night, relatively near the hotel, another person in the city of Mombasa and the others, again, we believe, in this area of Kenya.

CALLAWAY: And still in the questioning phase. No charges officially filed?

BOND: No charges filed and nor are there necessarily going to be any. The Kenyan police very much emphasizing that these have been people, these are people they're holding to talk to, not people who they really have any grounds to believe were directly involved in the attacks as yet. CALLAWAY: And as you know, there are reports out this morning, Reuters reporting that a couple of these suspects did have U.S. passports. You've mentioned that. Do you know how many or any more information on that report?

BOND: We're told by hotel staff that the couple who were holding U.S. passports tried to check out yesterday. So, yes, that apparently has been confirmed by staff at the hotel that they were staying at, which is roughly 700 meters from the hotel where the bomb blast took place.

CALLAWAY: Catherine, who's taking part in the investigation there now?

BOND: A number of Israeli investigators and recovery people were here this morning. The Kenyans were leading the investigation yesterday. There was an American official who was also assisting Kenyan police. But it is being led by the Kenyans. They are the ones who are bagging up the samples, who are looking at vehicle parts and body parts that were strewn across the hotel compound in order to be able to identify what type of bomb it was and who set it off.

CALLAWAY: All right, Catherine Bond, thank you very much.

That's the very latest from Mombasa on the investigation into the explosion there at that Paradise Hotel. And we will have more reaction to the terrorist attacks coming up on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING WITH PAULA ZAHN. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. will be her guest. That's about two hours from now.

As we have mentioned, two missiles were fired at an Israeli charter plane in Kenya.

And as CNN's Mike Boettcher reports, the missiles used are a favorite weapon of al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two missile launchers were found 300 meters from the end of the runway in Mombasa. The launchers appear to be variants of the Russian designed SAM-7. al Qaeda's interest in surface to air missiles is clear from their own videotape archives, obtained exclusively by CNN last August.

One videotape included this, a lengthy and detailed video presentation of how to fire a SAM-7. in another al Qaeda tape produced before the group was forced to flee Afghanistan, classroom instruction is applied in the field. Hooded al-Qaeda operatives at a location believed to be in Afghanistan take what appears to be a Chinese variant of the Russian SAM-7, known as a Red Cherry, assemble it then actually fire it.

Al Qaeda had also committed their knowledge to paper. These manuals discovered in an al Qaeda safe house after the fall of Kabul to coalition forces contain instruction in how to use several types of surface to air missiles, including American made Stingers. Still, surface to air missile systems are not foolproof. If infrared guided missiles like the SAM-7 do not lock onto an aircraft's jet exhaust, the heat seeking missiles will miss their target. That was apparently the case in the failed Mombasa attack. And in another failed attack last May in Saudi Arabia, in which investigators believe a Sudanese man with al Qaeda links fired at a U.S. plane as it took off from Prince Sultan Air Base.

Kenyan officials blame al Qaeda for the Mombasa suicide bombing and missile attack. But in Beirut, Lebanon, a previously unknown group called the Army of Palestine claimed responsibility, saying it was meant to coincide with the November 29, 1947, United Nations decision that partitioned Palestine and allowed for the creation of Israel.

(on camera): CNN has learned that anti-terror coalition intelligence sources are investigating whether this most recent attack is the work of several groups acting together. Attention is being focused on al Qaeda and Lebanese Hezbollah, which previously has been accused of launching attacks against Israeli targets outside the Middle East.

(voice-over): And according to those same sources, this man, Sayeef al-Adal (ph), whose name appears on the FBI's most wanted terrorist list, is getting close scrutiny. An al Qaeda operative with close ties to Lebanese Hezbollah, al-Adal is already wanted in connection with the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Coalition intelligence sources point out that if anyone had the experience and means to plan a combined attack in Africa, it is Sayeef al-Adal.

Mike Boettcher, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: You can find out much more about the terrorists known to have the SAMs and the latest on the Kenya investigation. Just go to our Web site at cnn.com. the AOL keyword is CNN.

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







Aired November 29, 2002 - 05:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the first planeload of Israelis wounded in the Kenya bombing returned to Israel this morning.
Let's go to CNN's Mike Hanna, who's in Jerusalem, for the very latest -- Mike.

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Catherine, Israelis counting the cost of terror at home and abroad. Abroad, that attack in the port city of Mombasa in Kenya, where at least three Israelis were killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel and a missile narrowly missing an Israeli charter aircraft as it left that port city.

Well, a number of the wounded being brought back in Israel in the course of the morning. Israel had sent out a number of Hercules aircraft with Israeli rescue teams and medical officials to pick up the wounded, some 20 wounded in that attack, it is believed. They are being brought back to Israel to receive further treatment here.

Also being brought back to Israel, those Israeli tourists who were in Kenya who wish to return in the wake of those attacks.

But also an attack within Israel, in the northern Israeli town of Beit Shean. There, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a group of Israelis near the city's central bus station. Six Israelis were killed in that attack, two Palestinian gunmen were shot at the scene by soldiers.

All of this on a day in which Israelis, or Likud Party members, were voting in their primaries, choosing who would lead the Likud Party in the elections due to take place in Israel in January.

The hands down winner by nearly 20 percent, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But Mr. Sharon made clear that yesterday was not a time for celebration and his victory speech last night making absolutely clear his determination to resist what he believes were acts intended to endanger Israel's democracy, and saying as well that Israel would find those responsible for the attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We have to be able to take out those who carry out the attacks and those who sent them. Israel will combat mercilessly those who engage in bloodletting. We are a strong people and we will not give in to terrorism. We are a people which stands fast, fights and will prevail, and we will prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNA: The election campaign now well under way. Ariel Sharon coming up against the man recently elected leader of the Labor Party, Amram Mitzna, the ex-mayor or present mayor of Haifa. So that election campaign under way, but events within the 24 hours an indication and a threat that it's an election campaign that will take place against a backdrop of ongoing violence -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you very much for that update.

That's Mike Hanna in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, U.S. Embassy officials in Kenya plan to meet today with Israeli and Kenyan investigators to talk about possible American assistance in the investigation there. President Bush has condemned the attacks. He said, "They underscore the continuing willingness of those opposed to peace to commit horrible crimes. Those who seek peace must do everything in their power to dismantle the infrastructure of terror that makes such actions possible."

Now let's see if we can get some more information about the suspects that were arrested in connection with these attacks in Kenya.

Let's go to CNN's Catherine Bond. She's joining us by video phone from Mombasa -- Catherine, what's the very latest on these suspects?

CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kenya's chief of police is now saying that 12 people are being held for questioning. The Kenyan police make a distinction between arresting people on suspicion of involvement in attacks and just holding people for questioning in order to extract useful information from them as they see it. He says that a couple of people who were arrested, or rather picked up here last night at nearby hotel, are giving the police useful information. That couple is said to have been holding American passports by hotel staff. So we know the Kenyan police are talking to people who they feel have some information concerning these attacks.

CALLAWAY: Catherine, do we know how many suspects are being questioned at this time?

BOND: A dozen, we're told by Kenya's chief of police. The numbers have varied. We are told that the police picked up two people here in this vicinity last night, relatively near the hotel, another person in the city of Mombasa and the others, again, we believe, in this area of Kenya.

CALLAWAY: And still in the questioning phase. No charges officially filed?

BOND: No charges filed and nor are there necessarily going to be any. The Kenyan police very much emphasizing that these have been people, these are people they're holding to talk to, not people who they really have any grounds to believe were directly involved in the attacks as yet. CALLAWAY: And as you know, there are reports out this morning, Reuters reporting that a couple of these suspects did have U.S. passports. You've mentioned that. Do you know how many or any more information on that report?

BOND: We're told by hotel staff that the couple who were holding U.S. passports tried to check out yesterday. So, yes, that apparently has been confirmed by staff at the hotel that they were staying at, which is roughly 700 meters from the hotel where the bomb blast took place.

CALLAWAY: Catherine, who's taking part in the investigation there now?

BOND: A number of Israeli investigators and recovery people were here this morning. The Kenyans were leading the investigation yesterday. There was an American official who was also assisting Kenyan police. But it is being led by the Kenyans. They are the ones who are bagging up the samples, who are looking at vehicle parts and body parts that were strewn across the hotel compound in order to be able to identify what type of bomb it was and who set it off.

CALLAWAY: All right, Catherine Bond, thank you very much.

That's the very latest from Mombasa on the investigation into the explosion there at that Paradise Hotel. And we will have more reaction to the terrorist attacks coming up on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING WITH PAULA ZAHN. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. will be her guest. That's about two hours from now.

As we have mentioned, two missiles were fired at an Israeli charter plane in Kenya.

And as CNN's Mike Boettcher reports, the missiles used are a favorite weapon of al Qaeda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two missile launchers were found 300 meters from the end of the runway in Mombasa. The launchers appear to be variants of the Russian designed SAM-7. al Qaeda's interest in surface to air missiles is clear from their own videotape archives, obtained exclusively by CNN last August.

One videotape included this, a lengthy and detailed video presentation of how to fire a SAM-7. in another al Qaeda tape produced before the group was forced to flee Afghanistan, classroom instruction is applied in the field. Hooded al-Qaeda operatives at a location believed to be in Afghanistan take what appears to be a Chinese variant of the Russian SAM-7, known as a Red Cherry, assemble it then actually fire it.

Al Qaeda had also committed their knowledge to paper. These manuals discovered in an al Qaeda safe house after the fall of Kabul to coalition forces contain instruction in how to use several types of surface to air missiles, including American made Stingers. Still, surface to air missile systems are not foolproof. If infrared guided missiles like the SAM-7 do not lock onto an aircraft's jet exhaust, the heat seeking missiles will miss their target. That was apparently the case in the failed Mombasa attack. And in another failed attack last May in Saudi Arabia, in which investigators believe a Sudanese man with al Qaeda links fired at a U.S. plane as it took off from Prince Sultan Air Base.

Kenyan officials blame al Qaeda for the Mombasa suicide bombing and missile attack. But in Beirut, Lebanon, a previously unknown group called the Army of Palestine claimed responsibility, saying it was meant to coincide with the November 29, 1947, United Nations decision that partitioned Palestine and allowed for the creation of Israel.

(on camera): CNN has learned that anti-terror coalition intelligence sources are investigating whether this most recent attack is the work of several groups acting together. Attention is being focused on al Qaeda and Lebanese Hezbollah, which previously has been accused of launching attacks against Israeli targets outside the Middle East.

(voice-over): And according to those same sources, this man, Sayeef al-Adal (ph), whose name appears on the FBI's most wanted terrorist list, is getting close scrutiny. An al Qaeda operative with close ties to Lebanese Hezbollah, al-Adal is already wanted in connection with the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Coalition intelligence sources point out that if anyone had the experience and means to plan a combined attack in Africa, it is Sayeef al-Adal.

Mike Boettcher, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: You can find out much more about the terrorists known to have the SAMs and the latest on the Kenya investigation. Just go to our Web site at cnn.com. the AOL keyword is CNN.

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