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CNN Live At Daybreak
Al Qaeda Claim for Kenya Attack?
Aired December 03, 2002 - 06:05 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: We're also following claims allegedly by al Qaeda taking responsibility for that suicide car bombing in Mombasa, Kenya.
Our Ben Wedeman is following those developments in Mombasa -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Carol, there are basically two indications this morning of possible al Qaeda involvement. One of them, of course, in those Web sites that you mentioned that in the past have carried statements from the al Qaeda organization. In this one, the statement came from the political office of the Qaeda al Jihad organization.
Now, U.S. officials cannot obviously confirm the veracity of this statement, but they say they are giving it some credibility. In the statement, they claimed responsibility for the attacks in Mombasa and said that the fighters of al Qaeda have returned to the same place where they hit four years ago: the Crusader Jewish Coalition. Now, in this case, they are referring to those attacks in August 1998 on the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
Now, the other indication of possible al Qaeda involvement in the attacks is that the serial numbers on the launchers used to fire those missiles at the Israeli passenger jet, the missiles that barely missed that jet last Thursday, apparently closely resembled the serial number found on a launcher discovered by Saudi authorities outside the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia last May. That's an air base frequently used by U.S. forces in the kingdom.
And apparently, all of these missiles are SA-7 heat-seeking missiles with a range of about 10,000 to 12,000 feet, manufactured in the old eastern bloc.
Now, also there is some increasing indication that the people involved in these attacks may have come from Somalia -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, good enough. Ben Wedeman reporting live from Mombasa.
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 December 3, 2002 - 06:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're also following claims allegedly by al Qaeda taking responsibility for that suicide car bombing in Mombasa, Kenya.
Our Ben Wedeman is following those developments in Mombasa -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CAIRO BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Carol, there are basically two indications this morning of possible al Qaeda involvement. One of them, of course, in those Web sites that you mentioned that in the past have carried statements from the al Qaeda organization. In this one, the statement came from the political office of the Qaeda al Jihad organization.
Now, U.S. officials cannot obviously confirm the veracity of this statement, but they say they are giving it some credibility. In the statement, they claimed responsibility for the attacks in Mombasa and said that the fighters of al Qaeda have returned to the same place where they hit four years ago: the Crusader Jewish Coalition. Now, in this case, they are referring to those attacks in August 1998 on the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
Now, the other indication of possible al Qaeda involvement in the attacks is that the serial numbers on the launchers used to fire those missiles at the Israeli passenger jet, the missiles that barely missed that jet last Thursday, apparently closely resembled the serial number found on a launcher discovered by Saudi authorities outside the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia last May. That's an air base frequently used by U.S. forces in the kingdom.
And apparently, all of these missiles are SA-7 heat-seeking missiles with a range of about 10,000 to 12,000 feet, manufactured in the old eastern bloc.
Now, also there is some increasing indication that the people involved in these attacks may have come from Somalia -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, good enough. Ben Wedeman reporting live from Mombasa.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
