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American Morning

Pakistan Police Say They've Arrested Some 70 Islamic Fundamentalists; U.N. Says Military Hospital in Afghanistan Bombed Yesterday

Aired October 23, 2001 - 10:18   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From Pakistan now, police say they have arrested some 70 Islamic fundamentalists after clashes at an anti- American protest. There is also word there, too, from U.N. officials that a military hospital in Afghanistan was bombed yesterday.

Our international correspondent Walter Rodgers live in Islamabad, Pakistan with details of both of these stories with us now.

Walter, hello.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

There has now been a third-party clarification of the Taliban's allegations yesterday that the United States bombed a hospital in Herat. The Taliban alleging there were 100 civilians and medical personnel killed in that bombing.

The United Nations spokesperson here in Islamabad who is in radio contact with Afghans, Afghan employees of the United Nations, on the ground in Herat, now offered new details on what happened.

Apparently, according U.N. Afghan employees in Iraq, and they are supervised by the Taliban when they make radio broadcasts back to Islamabad, but these Afghan employees say it was not a civilian hospital that was hit, rather it was a military base, a Taliban military base on the outskirts of Herat, and one of the buildings which was leveled, according to these U.N. representatives in Herat, one of the buildings that was leveled was a military hospital, not clear at this point how many casualties. More importantly, not at all clear, whether that hospital was marked with a red crescent, indicating that it was indeed a hospital.

Here is Stephanie Bunker, the U.N. spokesperson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE BUNKER, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: Our information which we received late this afternoon is that a hospital in Herat was hit, and it was reportedly destroyed. It was a military hospital, in a military compound on the eastern outskirts of city. The numbers of casualties are not known, and that's all of the information we have at this time. (END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: The Taliban continues to level charges of terrorism against the United States and against Great Britain, because of the continuing airstrikes. Earlier today, a Taliban spokesman said the United States martyred 19 civilians in an airstrike against Kandahar, and again, there are new charges of terrorism against the United States, the Taliban accusing the U.S. of using chemical agents.

Back to you.

HEMMER: Walter Rodgers if Islamabad. Walter, thanks.

And for the third straight day, some U.S. airstrikes now shifting from fixed military targets to frontline Taliban troops.

CNN's Chris Burns recently forced to move from his post in northern Afghanistan, due to the danger there. This is what he filed before he left. All right, apparently that report not ready just yet. We will have it for you momentarily.

In the meantime, though -- now I understand it is present. Chris Burns from recent file in Northern Afghanistan now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): At the same time that we are watching another U.S. airstrike over at Bagram Air Base, we are surrounded on three sides by the Taliban. Behind me is where the airstrikes have been going on. And back on the other side, over this way, we have been watching Katyusha rockets firing. Perhaps you can sweep over this way. A little bit behind the tree is where a Katyusha unit has been firing up toward the hills. If you sweep over to the mountain sides, there is some wisps of white smoke out this way. So it does appears that the Taliban are fighting back at the same time that these airstrikes are firing away at the Bagram frontline.

So it's getting very busy, very tense at this point, machine gun, mortar fire, apparently. That's we believe has been going on right now, that of course as this is the third day of airstrikes around the Bagram front line. No initial indication as yet as what kind of damage is done.

Right as I speak, there is another plane flying straight over our heads. It's another -- apparently another U.S. war jet flying over. Another rapid fire series of explosions along the front line we are seeing. More shots of Katyushas going over our heads over toward that mountainside, where the fighting is going on.

So there is fighting now breaking out between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban. About 200 meters away, Katyusha rocket unit firing away at that hillside.

We can see also here anti-aircraft fire going off as those planes fly overhead. It does appear those anti-aircraft units on the Taliban side are not able to reach those high-flying jets as they drop their bombs. We saw another series of airstrikes about an hour ago along that front line. Northern Alliance saying that they have been targeting at Taliban positions, troop positions, and as well as tank and artillery positions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: CNN's Chris Burns from a short time ago there on the front lines between the Northern Alliance and Taliban troops there, north of Kabul, about 30 miles outside the capital city.

Prior to that, we heard Walter Rodgers report from Islamabad indicating a military hospital in Afghanistan was hit by U.S. bombs.

Let's get more on this from the Pentagon, as CNN's Bob Franken is checking on the folks there.

Bob, what are they saying, if anything?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bill, they saying that they are still investigating, but that a preliminary investigation shows that it was not a U.S. bomb or missile that hit the facility, but what is described as collateral damage. This is very preliminary, but what senior Pentagon officials say they are working on is their belief that in fact they were targeting in the city of Herat, which is in the Western part of Afghanistan, were targeting a military barracks and the bomb or the missile went astray, and landed in an empty field. On the other side was this facility which they thought was, they believe to be an elderly care facility, although they acknowledged could have been turned to a hospital, could have been turned to a military hospital. It was not a hit, but collateral damage.

They emphasize the investigation is ongoing, but as far as casualties are concerned, they say that they are not able, since they are not on the ground, Pentagon officials, to get an accurate count of how many casualties there may have been. But they do believe that the 100 figure specified by the Taliban people yesterday is quite an exaggeration.

Again, they emphasize that this is an ongoing investigation, but the investigation up to this point, they say, is that the bomb did not actually hit the facility, but landed in a field nearby and caused extensive damage when it exploded.

HEMMER: Bob, give us an idea of how the verification process. Is it strictly done through the U.S. military and their sources, or do they perhaps consult with U.N. workers on the ground there possibly as well?

FRANKEN: They consult with just about everybody. They draw their own conclusions. A lot of it is done by surveying from the air. They admit it is not perfect, which is why it takes so long often times for them to come up with an answer. The point they wanted it make is that in this particular case, they acknowledge that the bomb did go astray, but it is their belief, their belief, based on this stage of the investigation, that the bomb landed in a field near the facility, either an elder care facility, which is what their belief is, or something turned into a hospital.

HEMMER: Bob, 10 minutes ago word out Of London is that all nine terrorist training camps operated and run by Al Qaeda have been -- quote -- "taken out of action." Any response or anything more from the Pentagon on that?

FRANKEN: That's not inconsistent with what they have been telling us for the last several days, that they have been quite successful in taking up facilities and taking out equipment. Let us not forget that they -- they being the United States forces -- have moved to a new emphasis on the positions of Taliban forces as opposed to facilities. So there will probably be a very easy path to see why they have decided, as they have told us many times, that they had pretty much exhausted the supply of targets, except targets of opportunity, and are now going after forces.

HEMMER: Is there a briefing today, Bob?

FRANKEN: There is a briefing, as a matter of fact, scheduled for 1:30. At the moment, it's going to be Victoria Clark, who is the assistant secretary of defense, who is scheduled.

HEMMER: All right, Bob, thanks, 1:30 Eastern Time, Bob Franken at the Pentagon.

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