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American Morning
10 Main Suspects in USS Cole Bombing Escaped Prison
Aired April 11, 2003 - 08:46 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.
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: ...have any idea where they are headed to?
WALID AL-SAQQAF, YEMEN TIMES CHIEF EDITOR: Well, so far, the authorities themselves are contradicting each other. I mean, one side says it had happened and the other contradicting it. And, so far, information -- solid information of what exactly happened and how many are there and what their names are and where they fled to is still in debate among themselves because so far, the government itself has not been able to bring about an official statement about it.
ZAHN: The Associated Press is reporting there's -- that they've actually been told by government officials that this group of men is headed north into the province Al Shabwa of an al Qaeda stronghold. What can you tell us about that?
AL-SAQQAF: Well, we do know that (UNINTELLIGIBLE), those three government aides are among the lawless and enforcement -- law enforcement there is in its weakest. So we can assume that they would choose a destination, especially, as you said, it has -- -- they have -- they may a good experience in working their way through those areas.
But to need a lot of us to chase them down again after so long.
ZAHN: How embarrassing is this to Yemeni government officials at a time when they've allowed U.S. troops to come into the country and actually are using U.S. military troops to train some of their own?
AL-SAQQAF: Well, if they -- let's say they confirm it officially saying they have indeed escaped, then they should also provide some photo information, justification or some sort of way to explain to the community, locals and foreigners, of how security measures -- why their security measures were too weak or whether there was some conspiracy there in the scene or there are some people who have assisted them from within or out of the prison. So it's a lot of questions to be asked and we are waiting for the government's response.
ZAHN: Walid, I have one more question for you. How is the local population reacting to this news? Are they fearful?
Al-SAQQAF: Well, so far, I mean, people may not have learned about it. They may have -- there are people who have learned about this news, They would of learned it from CNN and other news networks, so I'm not sure even that Arab channels have brought this news. But usually, we have some disappointment in that sources are not in harmony with each other. We are contradictory reports. One government official may say something, the other would contradict it.
Just a few minutes ago, I called the closest police station near the prison and they are clearly denying it. So it's some sort of chaotic situation concerning getting or gathering information.
ZAHN: Walid Al-Saqqaf, thank you for helping us try to make sense of the news that 10 of the main suspects in the Cole bombing incident escaped from prison on Friday. Again, thanks for your input.
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 April 11, 2003 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: ...have any idea where they are headed to?
WALID AL-SAQQAF, YEMEN TIMES CHIEF EDITOR: Well, so far, the authorities themselves are contradicting each other. I mean, one side says it had happened and the other contradicting it. And, so far, information -- solid information of what exactly happened and how many are there and what their names are and where they fled to is still in debate among themselves because so far, the government itself has not been able to bring about an official statement about it.
ZAHN: The Associated Press is reporting there's -- that they've actually been told by government officials that this group of men is headed north into the province Al Shabwa of an al Qaeda stronghold. What can you tell us about that?
AL-SAQQAF: Well, we do know that (UNINTELLIGIBLE), those three government aides are among the lawless and enforcement -- law enforcement there is in its weakest. So we can assume that they would choose a destination, especially, as you said, it has -- -- they have -- they may a good experience in working their way through those areas.
But to need a lot of us to chase them down again after so long.
ZAHN: How embarrassing is this to Yemeni government officials at a time when they've allowed U.S. troops to come into the country and actually are using U.S. military troops to train some of their own?
AL-SAQQAF: Well, if they -- let's say they confirm it officially saying they have indeed escaped, then they should also provide some photo information, justification or some sort of way to explain to the community, locals and foreigners, of how security measures -- why their security measures were too weak or whether there was some conspiracy there in the scene or there are some people who have assisted them from within or out of the prison. So it's a lot of questions to be asked and we are waiting for the government's response.
ZAHN: Walid, I have one more question for you. How is the local population reacting to this news? Are they fearful?
Al-SAQQAF: Well, so far, I mean, people may not have learned about it. They may have -- there are people who have learned about this news, They would of learned it from CNN and other news networks, so I'm not sure even that Arab channels have brought this news. But usually, we have some disappointment in that sources are not in harmony with each other. We are contradictory reports. One government official may say something, the other would contradict it.
Just a few minutes ago, I called the closest police station near the prison and they are clearly denying it. So it's some sort of chaotic situation concerning getting or gathering information.
ZAHN: Walid Al-Saqqaf, thank you for helping us try to make sense of the news that 10 of the main suspects in the Cole bombing incident escaped from prison on Friday. Again, thanks for your input.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
