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Russia's War
Aired December 27, 2002 - 13:02 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Lest we forget, the Russians have a war on terrorism also, and today was a win for those terrorists. Two massive blasts occurred in a well-known haven for Muslim militant fighters, some of whom are hostile to American also. And talk about timing, just yesterday, we aired a record from Chechnya with CNN's Jill Dougherty.
Over and over, we heard the Russians insist that the long war in Chechnya is finally over. Now, what are they saying? Jill Dougherty is back in Moscow. She joins us live with the latest -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Kyra, you know, that building, the government building in Grozny, was one of the most highly protected government buildings in general in that Chechen capital, but somehow, what are being called suicide bombers were able to make their way in a truck and an off-terrain vehicle through checkpoints, make it right up next close to that building and explode what officials say is about a ton of explosives.
One survivor said it was literally like an earthquake and it left that building just a burned-out hulk. People have been, of course, taken from that wreckage, and the latest figures that we have, official ones, are 38 dead, 70 injured, and five people pulled live from the wreckage.
As you mentioned, it was certainly a blow to the Kremlin, because they have been trying to say that things are getting back to normal.
And this building was really the symbol. It was the nerve center of the pro-Kremlin administration in Chechnya. It raises real questions now for the Russians, number one what do they do? How can they maintain any type of security if this can happen? And also, what does it mean for Chechnya in general and the future?
A lot of big questions. But right now, the human tragedy is still there, Kyra. There have been reports from Interfax news agency, one hospital where some of these people were taken, the doctors didn't have power and had to operate by candlelight.
PHILLIPS: Jill, and just as we were talking about yesterday, when we saw your report, "Inside Chechnya," you have to wonder, it reminds you of when the movie theater was taken over and people within the movie theater were taken hostage. How did these explosives and bombs get to the checkpoints and through the streets? It's the same scenario, isn't it?
DOUGHERTY: That's exactly what they're asking, Kyra, because theoretically, that is a very, very locked down area and they should not have been able to get through. There are checkpoints literally all over the city. How they did it, perhaps it was a delivery truck, perhaps they hid it under potatoes or something like that. That's entirely possible.
But the point is it was a very, very big amount of explosives. And right now, it's a blow to the Chechen administration that is pro- Kremlin.
In fact, they're blaming it, of course, we've been saying, on the terrorists, on the rebels. They say the rebels got together at a meeting recently and ordered that there be more attacks in Grozny.
PHILLIPS: Our Jill Dougherty, live from Moscow. We'll continue to follow those attacks also.
Thanks, Jill.
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 December 27, 2002 - 13:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Lest we forget, the Russians have a war on terrorism also, and today was a win for those terrorists. Two massive blasts occurred in a well-known haven for Muslim militant fighters, some of whom are hostile to American also. And talk about timing, just yesterday, we aired a record from Chechnya with CNN's Jill Dougherty.
Over and over, we heard the Russians insist that the long war in Chechnya is finally over. Now, what are they saying? Jill Dougherty is back in Moscow. She joins us live with the latest -- Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Kyra, you know, that building, the government building in Grozny, was one of the most highly protected government buildings in general in that Chechen capital, but somehow, what are being called suicide bombers were able to make their way in a truck and an off-terrain vehicle through checkpoints, make it right up next close to that building and explode what officials say is about a ton of explosives.
One survivor said it was literally like an earthquake and it left that building just a burned-out hulk. People have been, of course, taken from that wreckage, and the latest figures that we have, official ones, are 38 dead, 70 injured, and five people pulled live from the wreckage.
As you mentioned, it was certainly a blow to the Kremlin, because they have been trying to say that things are getting back to normal.
And this building was really the symbol. It was the nerve center of the pro-Kremlin administration in Chechnya. It raises real questions now for the Russians, number one what do they do? How can they maintain any type of security if this can happen? And also, what does it mean for Chechnya in general and the future?
A lot of big questions. But right now, the human tragedy is still there, Kyra. There have been reports from Interfax news agency, one hospital where some of these people were taken, the doctors didn't have power and had to operate by candlelight.
PHILLIPS: Jill, and just as we were talking about yesterday, when we saw your report, "Inside Chechnya," you have to wonder, it reminds you of when the movie theater was taken over and people within the movie theater were taken hostage. How did these explosives and bombs get to the checkpoints and through the streets? It's the same scenario, isn't it?
DOUGHERTY: That's exactly what they're asking, Kyra, because theoretically, that is a very, very locked down area and they should not have been able to get through. There are checkpoints literally all over the city. How they did it, perhaps it was a delivery truck, perhaps they hid it under potatoes or something like that. That's entirely possible.
But the point is it was a very, very big amount of explosives. And right now, it's a blow to the Chechen administration that is pro- Kremlin.
In fact, they're blaming it, of course, we've been saying, on the terrorists, on the rebels. They say the rebels got together at a meeting recently and ordered that there be more attacks in Grozny.
PHILLIPS: Our Jill Dougherty, live from Moscow. We'll continue to follow those attacks also.
Thanks, Jill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
