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CNN Live At Daybreak
Hunt for Osama bin Laden
Aired February 24, 2004 - 06:06 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: Explosions in Pakistan this morning. It means the hunt for Osama bin Laden is intensifying in the no-man's land along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
Ash-Har Quraishi live via videophone from Islamabad, Pakistan, to explain what's happening there -- Ash-Har.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the military launched an operation early this morning just after dawn, following a tip-off that they received indicating the presence of what they called suspected foreign terrorists in a region of the tribal belt in northwest Pakistan; now, most specifically the region of South Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan.
Now, military officials say they launched this operation after those suspects refused to surrender. They're using the channels of the tribal elders, locals, in the area to try and get these suspects to surrender. They did not do that. They came under rocket fire, they say, and then the heavy gunships were brought in and gun personnel as well.
Now, they say that they were able to take in at least 25 suspects. They were aided by around 10 -- at least 10 helicopter gunships in this operation, and they say that right now they are interrogating those suspects and trying to identify them. They say that there are some foreign nationals amongst the group. They did seize amongst them weapons, ammunition, audio cassettes, as well as passports and other documents.
Now, this interrogation is under way. They are trying to determine who these people are, and they have been speaking to the locals in the area for some time now. This is an ongoing operation, they say, and routine as part of their intense search, especially along that border region for remnants of al Qaeda and the Taliban -- Carol.
COSTELLO: U.S. troops are not far away. They're over the border in Afghanistan. Is there a chance they may get involved in Pakistan, Ash-Har?
QURAISHI: Well, officials say absolutely not. They say that the roles are clearly marked. The U.S. coalition forces in Afghanistan would carry out their operations on that side. The Pakistani side would handle this side, securing the border as much as possible and carrying out their own operations. And just as we've seen in the last few weeks, particularly Pakistan has been using local tribesmen to try and get these suspects to surrender, saying that they would not be handed over to the United States if they do so willingly. However, they say that if there are suspects that the U.S. wants, they will hand those people over. But they are handling it from this side in conjunction with U.S. coalition forces on the Afghan side -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ash-Har Quraishi live from Islamabad 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 February 24, 2004 - 06:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Explosions in Pakistan this morning. It means the hunt for Osama bin Laden is intensifying in the no-man's land along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
Ash-Har Quraishi live via videophone from Islamabad, Pakistan, to explain what's happening there -- Ash-Har.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the military launched an operation early this morning just after dawn, following a tip-off that they received indicating the presence of what they called suspected foreign terrorists in a region of the tribal belt in northwest Pakistan; now, most specifically the region of South Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan.
Now, military officials say they launched this operation after those suspects refused to surrender. They're using the channels of the tribal elders, locals, in the area to try and get these suspects to surrender. They did not do that. They came under rocket fire, they say, and then the heavy gunships were brought in and gun personnel as well.
Now, they say that they were able to take in at least 25 suspects. They were aided by around 10 -- at least 10 helicopter gunships in this operation, and they say that right now they are interrogating those suspects and trying to identify them. They say that there are some foreign nationals amongst the group. They did seize amongst them weapons, ammunition, audio cassettes, as well as passports and other documents.
Now, this interrogation is under way. They are trying to determine who these people are, and they have been speaking to the locals in the area for some time now. This is an ongoing operation, they say, and routine as part of their intense search, especially along that border region for remnants of al Qaeda and the Taliban -- Carol.
COSTELLO: U.S. troops are not far away. They're over the border in Afghanistan. Is there a chance they may get involved in Pakistan, Ash-Har?
QURAISHI: Well, officials say absolutely not. They say that the roles are clearly marked. The U.S. coalition forces in Afghanistan would carry out their operations on that side. The Pakistani side would handle this side, securing the border as much as possible and carrying out their own operations. And just as we've seen in the last few weeks, particularly Pakistan has been using local tribesmen to try and get these suspects to surrender, saying that they would not be handed over to the United States if they do so willingly. However, they say that if there are suspects that the U.S. wants, they will hand those people over. But they are handling it from this side in conjunction with U.S. coalition forces on the Afghan side -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ash-Har Quraishi live from Islamabad 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.
