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CNN Live Saturday

U.S. Officials Deny Taliban Claims of Shooting Down U.S. Aircraft

Aired November 03, 2001 - 15:09   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Back at the Pentagon, officials flatly denying the latest Taliban claim that they shot down U.S. aircraft. let's go right to CNN's Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon with the latest on that.

Jonathan, what's the Pentagon saying about that?

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're pretty emphatic Catherine in saying that absolutely no U.S. helicopters were shot down over Afghanistan, this despite the Taliban's claim that two choppers were shot down and between 40 and 50 Americans were killed.

According to the Pentagon, what did happen was this: two helicopters were on a mission in Afghanistan, flying in bad weather. One of them attempted to land, it did not succeed, it crash-landed. A second chopper landed safely and was able to retrieve the four member crew of the first helicopter. They were taken to safety and are being treated for what the military calls non-life-threatening injuries.

Once those choppers had left the areas, F-14 tomcats, assigned to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea, came back to where that chopper had crashed, destroyed the helicopter on the ground. We're told that's standard operating procedure in the U.S. military in the event there may be some sensitive material in that aircraft that the U.S. military does not want its enemies to see.

Also, another missing aircraft to speak of. This one, an unmanned predator reconnaissance drone. Now, the Taliban claims that its forces shot down this drone over eastern Afghanistan. The U.S. Air Force says the drone went down in bad weather and it has no plans on retrieving it.

It was a busy day, otherwise, for U.S. military aircraft. The Pentagon says a total of 65 strike aircraft used Saturday, hitting six target areas around Kabul, the capitol, the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, and though you don't see it on the map there, but up where it says "controlled by Northern Alliance" is the northern city of Kunduz, not far from the Tajikistan border.

The focus there appeared to be on Taliban troop placements not far from those Northern Alliance forces that are hoping to take the city of Mazar-e Sharif.

Saturday's focus in the south appeared to be on cave and tunnel systems that are used by forces of both the Taliban and al Qaeda.

And one other item coming from the skies over Afghanistan, humanitarian relief missions continue. Another 34,000 rations were dropped on Saturday, bringing the total, Catherine, to just over a million so far.

CALLAWAY: Jonathan, let's go back quickly to your first report there on what the Pentagon said did happen in the accident with the aircraft. We understand that they went back actually and destroyed that aircraft. Can you tell us why?

AIKEN: Yes, it's standard operating procedure, we're told, that when there may be sensitive material onboard the aircraft, whether this is equipment or perhaps information that the military does not want its enemy to see, the aircraft itself will be destroyed by U.S. forces so that the enemy can't get its hands on the material inside.

CALLAWAY: All right, Jonathan. Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon. Thank you.

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