Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Dangers of War Remain At Kandahar Airport

Aired December 17, 2001 - 08:06   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Further to the south in Kandahar, Taliban troops are apparently gone, but the dangers of war remain. Some Marines found that out this weekend.

Mike Chinoy is with the Marines in Kandahar. He has the very latest for us now -- Mike, good morning.

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Paula. Well, what we're being told here is that there is still a serious threat from pockets of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters still in this general vicinity. Many of those fighters simply melted into the local population when the Taliban rule here in Kandahar collapsed a short time ago. And so they are building up the camp here -- the encampment at Kandahar Airport. Thirteen plane loads, C-130 transports flew in on Sunday night bringing in more troops and more equipment.

I am standing now at what used to be the terminal building here at Kandahar Airport, which is now almost ringed by armored vehicles and heavily-armed Marines. They are taking no changes. Memories here still, among the Marine Corp, of what happened to the Marine contingent in Beirut in 1983, when 241 soldiers died from an Islamic fundamentalist suicide bomber.

A more immediate threat, though, still it comes from unexploded ordinance and land mines. On Sunday, three Marines were injured -- two with shrapnel, one lost a foot -- when they stepped on land mines just at the end of the runway, a few hundred yards from where I'm standing now. They had been going through an abandoned building. They were looking for unexploded ordinance. And as they came back, one of them stepped on a mine.

It underscores how lethal and how insidious the land mine threat is. There are literally thousands of them ringing the perimeter of this airport. The Marines had gone to that building through what they through was a path that was safe. But in fact, on their way back, one of them stepped on a mine and lost a foot.

We have been hearing explosions throughout the day -- controlled explosions set by the Marines as they try and get rid of some of the ordnance and mines that literally litter the whole area around the airport -- Paula.

ZAHN: Mike Chinoy -- thank you so much for that update.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.