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CNN Live At Daybreak
The War on Terror: Tracking Al Qaeda
Aired October 03, 2003 - 05:37 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: Turn our attention now to Pakistan. Authorities are questioning nearly 20 al Qaeda suspects today. They were captured during a massive raid against Osama bin Laden's terror group.
CNN's Ash-har Quraishi joins us live by videophone from Islamabad with more.
Do we know who is in custody -- Ash-har?
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, according to officials we spoke to today, they say the investigation is still -- it's very early in the investigation. They are trying to identify these 18 men who are in custody.
Just to give you a recap of what happened, this operation was launched in the early morning of Thursday, just before daybreak. Military officials in the remote tribal area of south Wazeristan, some said that they were monitoring the movement of what they called suspicious foreign elements crossing back and forth over the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They went to this small mud hut compound where these people were staying. They approached them. When they came under gunfire, that's when the heavy military came in.
We were taken up to this location as the operation was still under way. When we arrived at the scene, there were helicopter gunships still circling overhead, gunfire could be heard in the distance intermittently, as well as some explosions.
Now at the end of the day, this was a full day operation, 18 suspected al Qaeda militants were captured, 8 others were killed.
Now the Pakistani army also took some casualties, two soldiers were killed. One of those soldiers was actually airlifted out on the helicopter that we were taken in on. Two other soldiers were injured. And officials say that they found 10 women and children also inside these compounds. They say that they have not verified their identities as yet, but they do have them in custody and they were unharmed.
Now inside one of these mud compounds security forces said that they seized AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, anti-tank mines, as well as audio cassettes and other documents. But again, officials today telling us that it's too early in the investigation to say who these people are and who they may be related to. They are saying that they are foreign nationals, though -- Carol. COSTELLO: Well, Ash-har, everybody here in the United States is wondering, I mean the person they are really going after is Osama bin Laden, right?
QURAISHI: That's a good question. We've seen just in the last few weeks a new tape. Whether or not that was shot recently is still in question. There have been some people here who believe that Osama bin Laden may be hiding in this particular area in south Wazeristan, possibly in the tribal areas of Pakistan. It's a place that's very inaccessible.
The government here has only recently been able to send posts in here, army patrols in there. And it's still a very difficult task trying to get information. It's a place where sympathy for the Taliban and al Qaeda still remain strong. So trying to find him, even if he is hiding in Wazeristan or the tribal areas, that would be difficult -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ash-har Quraishi, live from Islamabad, Pakistan, this morning, many thanks.
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 October 3, 2003 - 05:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turn our attention now to Pakistan. Authorities are questioning nearly 20 al Qaeda suspects today. They were captured during a massive raid against Osama bin Laden's terror group.
CNN's Ash-har Quraishi joins us live by videophone from Islamabad with more.
Do we know who is in custody -- Ash-har?
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, according to officials we spoke to today, they say the investigation is still -- it's very early in the investigation. They are trying to identify these 18 men who are in custody.
Just to give you a recap of what happened, this operation was launched in the early morning of Thursday, just before daybreak. Military officials in the remote tribal area of south Wazeristan, some said that they were monitoring the movement of what they called suspicious foreign elements crossing back and forth over the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They went to this small mud hut compound where these people were staying. They approached them. When they came under gunfire, that's when the heavy military came in.
We were taken up to this location as the operation was still under way. When we arrived at the scene, there were helicopter gunships still circling overhead, gunfire could be heard in the distance intermittently, as well as some explosions.
Now at the end of the day, this was a full day operation, 18 suspected al Qaeda militants were captured, 8 others were killed.
Now the Pakistani army also took some casualties, two soldiers were killed. One of those soldiers was actually airlifted out on the helicopter that we were taken in on. Two other soldiers were injured. And officials say that they found 10 women and children also inside these compounds. They say that they have not verified their identities as yet, but they do have them in custody and they were unharmed.
Now inside one of these mud compounds security forces said that they seized AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, anti-tank mines, as well as audio cassettes and other documents. But again, officials today telling us that it's too early in the investigation to say who these people are and who they may be related to. They are saying that they are foreign nationals, though -- Carol. COSTELLO: Well, Ash-har, everybody here in the United States is wondering, I mean the person they are really going after is Osama bin Laden, right?
QURAISHI: That's a good question. We've seen just in the last few weeks a new tape. Whether or not that was shot recently is still in question. There have been some people here who believe that Osama bin Laden may be hiding in this particular area in south Wazeristan, possibly in the tribal areas of Pakistan. It's a place that's very inaccessible.
The government here has only recently been able to send posts in here, army patrols in there. And it's still a very difficult task trying to get information. It's a place where sympathy for the Taliban and al Qaeda still remain strong. So trying to find him, even if he is hiding in Wazeristan or the tribal areas, that would be difficult -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ash-har Quraishi, live from Islamabad, Pakistan, this morning, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
