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American Morning

Camp Rhino Could Take In More Prisoners

Aired December 26, 2001 - 08:04   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Back now to Afghanistan -- CNN's Bill Hemmer pulling duty on Operation Happy Holidays with the Marines at Kandahar International Airport -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, thanks again. You mentioned that shoot out that took place just yesterday, actually, at the Kandahar Hospital downtown here in southern Afghanistan.

What happened about four days ago, there was a suspected al Qaeda member being treated there. He was seized and detained and later brought here to the airport after he was taken out. About eight members of Arabs there -- described to us -- al Qaeda members holed themselves up, loaded with munitions, and said they will not come out alive and certainly will not turn themselves over to any U.S. forces.

We do know U.S. Special Forces have been involved in some fashion down there. However, we are told they were not involved in the fighting and the shoot out that took place yesterday. However, as you just mentioned, that situation is ongoing at this time just a few miles from here.

I want to talk more about the detainees here. Effectively today, the Marines doubled their capacity. They finished a second warehouse on the other end of the base here, and they say at any moment, they could take several hundred more prisoners. And we've been hearing reports throughout the week that hundreds more would come. It hasn't happened just yet, but it may happen at any time.

These detainees are taken in here. They are put under 24 hours' surveillance. We watched them build the guard towers just yesterday to ensure more security and more safety if more are brought in. We also watched them under spotlight, which is allowed apparently under the Geneva Convention -- the rules of war -- spotlights trained on these 17 detainees at this point for constant observation.

The other issue here in Kandahar has to do with Tora Bora hundreds of miles to the northeast from here. One Marine says that's the million dollar question right now, whether or not Marines will assist in the cave-to-cave operation up there in Tora Bora looking for al Qaeda members, al Qaeda leaders and ultimately, the whereabouts, dead or alive, of Osama bin Laden.

Now, we should emphasize we are told at the base here the order has not come, but if indeed it does, they will do their duty and carry out their mission. And what will that mission be? It has not been described to us or explained to us specifically, but it may entail, again, that kind of police work, going house to house virtually -- in this case, cave to cave -- looking for more evidence and possibly people who may be left behind after some intense rounds of U.S. airstrikes that were carried out against that region.

We also know that U.S. Special Forces have been operating there for several weeks now, and the Special Forces may ultimately determine what kind of help and assistance they need on the ground there. It should also be pointed out just yesterday, some of the Afghan fighters in the area say they no longer need the U.S. help in their region. They say they have searched every cave, they believe, where al Qaeda has been present and now left and now absent in that area, and say the forces are no longer needed.

It's on ongoing story though -- still developing at this time, but we'll track it for you here -- Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Bill Hemmer -- checking in with him in just a little bit -- thanks very much.

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