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Breaking News

10 Pakistani Soldiers Killed By What's Believed to be Al Qaeda

Aired June 26, 2002 - 07:03   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ten Pakistani soldiers were killed today, killed by attackers believed to be al Qaeda fighters.

Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon with more on this developing story -- Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, here at the Pentagon, military officials are watching the situation in Pakistan this morning very, very closely. The Pakistani military now appears to be moving against the al Qaeda, which have been hiding out in that country.

We are told the operation remains ongoing at this hour, and the fighting is taking place in remote villages in the tribal regions of Pakistan. This is about 190 miles west of the Pakistan capital of Islamabad. It's a region of the country where the central government exerts very little control routinely. Even the military, the Pakistani military, is generally not welcomed by the tribes in this area. But they have moved in, and they are looking for the al Qaeda.

This is very significant, because in recent days, the U.S. military has estimated there are anywhere between 400 and 1,000 al Qaeda, which may be in this remote tribal region of Pakistan, having fled Afghanistan after the U.S. bombing earlier this year. The U.S. had been pressing Pakistan to move into this area, and about two weeks ago in fact, the Pakistani military did begin moving several hundred soldiers into the region.

Now, in this firefight that has occurred today, al Qaeda, suspected al Qaeda, have been killed. They have been identified possibly as foreigners, possibly as Chechens, who had been in the region.

We should also tell you that there are U.S. Special Forces and law enforcement personnel, FBI, in that region constantly in recent weeks. They are providing assistance and intelligence to the Pakistanis, trying to earmark and locate these al Qaeda fighters for them. This operation, however, at the moment, remains a Pakistani military operation, we are told -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Meanwhile, Barbara, we were just showing pictures of some men jumping through hoops of fire and shooting at a screen that had images of President Clinton and others. What were those pictures? STARR: Well, we have seen a lot of pictures over the recent months and years of al Qaeda training these fighters from around the world, undergoing very, very rigorous training, you know. And since the bombing in Afghanistan, one of the things the U.S. intelligence has been looking for is where the al Qaeda may have moved their training camps. They certainly think they are still active, but they just don't think they are in Afghanistan right now.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon with that breaking news -- Barbara, thank you very much.

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