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CNN Live At Daybreak
Land Mine Destroys Bus Packed with Afghan Villagers
Aired January 31, 2003 - 06:36 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: Let's talk about Afghanistan now. In southern Afghanistan, a land mine this morning wipes out a bus loaded with Afghan villagers on their way to market. The destruction so complete that authorities are having a difficult time counting the casualties.
CNN's Karl Penhaul joins us live from Kabul with an update -- good morning.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Carol.
Yes, there's still confusion about the exact numbers of dead and that, local authorities say, is because of the scene of utter devastation there is at this point on the highway south of the city of Kandahar. The bus was traveling along a highway towards a village when it traveled over a land mine. The land mine exploded, the bus was wrecked.
Local authorities are blaming followers of Gulbedin Hekmatyar, a renegade warlord who has since allied himself with Taliban and al Qaeda remnants. They're blaming him for the attack.
We spoke earlier on to regional military commander Han Mohammed Han (ph). He said that his report showed eight dead, two injured. That was based, he said, on a conversation with the bus driver, who survived the blast, who said he had 10 passengers at that time. However, the spokesman for the regional governor, Khalid Pashtoon, has told us that there could be up to 18 dead. So, like I say, Carol, still some uncertainty over the exact number of victims.
COSTELLO: You know, Karl, it seems right now that violence is increasing in Afghanistan. Is it or is it just because we haven't been paying as close attention to it now?
PENHAUL: I think, Carol, what we can see is that there is or appears to be a marked increase in violence in eastern and southeast Afghanistan in the border region with Pakistan. Authorities are saying that this is due to this renegade warlord Gulbedin Hekmatyar who's organizing a guerrilla campaign, still a low-level guerrilla campaign, but nevertheless, somewhat more coordinated. And since he's now allied himself with Taliban and al Qaeda fighters left after the U.S. or the mass U.S. campaign here over the last year, then they're reorganizing themselves and launching attacks both on American bases in the border region but also on civilians, as we've seen today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. Karl Penhaul live from Kabul, 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
Aired January 31, 2003 - 06:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about Afghanistan now. In southern Afghanistan, a land mine this morning wipes out a bus loaded with Afghan villagers on their way to market. The destruction so complete that authorities are having a difficult time counting the casualties.
CNN's Karl Penhaul joins us live from Kabul with an update -- good morning.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Carol.
Yes, there's still confusion about the exact numbers of dead and that, local authorities say, is because of the scene of utter devastation there is at this point on the highway south of the city of Kandahar. The bus was traveling along a highway towards a village when it traveled over a land mine. The land mine exploded, the bus was wrecked.
Local authorities are blaming followers of Gulbedin Hekmatyar, a renegade warlord who has since allied himself with Taliban and al Qaeda remnants. They're blaming him for the attack.
We spoke earlier on to regional military commander Han Mohammed Han (ph). He said that his report showed eight dead, two injured. That was based, he said, on a conversation with the bus driver, who survived the blast, who said he had 10 passengers at that time. However, the spokesman for the regional governor, Khalid Pashtoon, has told us that there could be up to 18 dead. So, like I say, Carol, still some uncertainty over the exact number of victims.
COSTELLO: You know, Karl, it seems right now that violence is increasing in Afghanistan. Is it or is it just because we haven't been paying as close attention to it now?
PENHAUL: I think, Carol, what we can see is that there is or appears to be a marked increase in violence in eastern and southeast Afghanistan in the border region with Pakistan. Authorities are saying that this is due to this renegade warlord Gulbedin Hekmatyar who's organizing a guerrilla campaign, still a low-level guerrilla campaign, but nevertheless, somewhat more coordinated. And since he's now allied himself with Taliban and al Qaeda fighters left after the U.S. or the mass U.S. campaign here over the last year, then they're reorganizing themselves and launching attacks both on American bases in the border region but also on civilians, as we've seen today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. Karl Penhaul live from Kabul, 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
