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CNN Live At Daybreak

Heavy Bombing in Afghanistan Focusing on Cave Complexes

Aired November 30, 2001 - 06:13   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: Let's check on the latest from the Pentagon, and Ed Lavandera is doing that for us -- Ed, good morning once again.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. You can bet here at the Pentagon leadership will be watching closely what's happening on the ground in Kandahar. We understand that southern opposition groups to the Taliban say that they have moved in to the city's edge, while the Northern Alliance says it has moved to the northern edges of Kandahar province, some 50 miles away from the city, which is the last stronghold for the Taliban inside of Afghanistan.

The Pentagon and the leadership here say that they are a little bit skeptical at this point to the Northern Alliance's accusations of exactly what's happening there. But this does raise a lot of concern for the U.S. military. These groups have a long history of not getting along, quite frankly. And as they move closer to the city, and the inevitable mix-up of these groups perhaps, that the U.S. military officials saying that they are talking to both sides, but that this does present a potential problem.

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REAR ADMIRAL JOHN STUFFLEBEEM, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: We are not controlling any opposition group. We are working with opposition groups. We are not dictating what their objectives are or may be not. We certainly have made suggestions. We certainly have responded to requests and questions that they have asked us. We have provided tactical information when asked. We have volunteered what would be American expectations or coalition expectations of detainees that they might have in terms of treatment. We are not in the business of denying what one group would intend to do.

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LAVANDERA: While the opposition groups work on the ground, the U.S. airstrikes continue to pound Kandahar. We understand in the latest images released from the Pentagon, they say they continue focusing on the elaborate cave system, where al Qaeda leadership and Taliban leadership is suspected of hiding out. And they're also targeting other compounds around the area, where they suspect some of these people might be hiding out as well.

Of course, all of this is part of the larger strategy, the Pentagon has announced, where they are targeting the leadership of the Taliban and al Qaeda. The thinking is is that if you can take the legs away from the leadership of these groups that the rank-and-file, they hope, will put down their arms and surrender.

So that is the latest here from the Pentagon -- Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Ed Lavandera -- Ed, thank you very much. You have a great weekend.

LAVANDERA: You too.

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