Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Four Canadians Killed by U.S. Bomb

Aired April 18, 2002 - 07:02   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front" this morning, though, four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight wounded in Afghanistan today, after an American F-16 jet mistakenly dropped at least one laser- guided bomb on them during a training mission near Kandahar. Canadian military officials say they will investigate the friendly fire incident with the cooperation of the United States.

For more on this, we are joined now by CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr -- good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. Well, the Canadians were conducting a live-fire training exercise south of Kandahar when the incident occurred. Four Canadian soldiers were killed, either injured, some very seriously, when a U.S. F-16 dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on their position.

The Canadians are clearly stunned by the accident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RAY HENAULT, CHIEF OF DEFENSE STAFF, CANADA: The battle group was conducting a regular, live-fire training exercise, a nighttime live-fire training exercise, in an area that's recognized as a training area. The aircraft that are over flying and assisting operations in Afghanistan are operating on well-recognized and very well-controlled routes and under very strict control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: CNN has learned that an F-16 pilot flying overhead, along with another F-16 flying nearby, reported that they were taking ground fire. They were given permission to fly over the target to eyeball it. And as they did, they reported again that they were taking ground fire. The pilot of one of the F-16s invoked the right of self-defense and dropped his 500-pound laser-guided bomb.

But officials also tell us, U.S. officials say, in fact, this was a restricted operating area. It was a training area, and the restrictions extended to several thousand feet into the air. So it appears this morning that this was a very, very tragic accident -- Paula.

ZAHN: So as a result of this, what happens? Any change in the operations over these restricted areas? STARR: Well, the U.S. and Canada now, of course, will conduct a very in-depth joint investigation of the accident. They are going to try and determine exactly what happened. And it seems to be a question of how something like this could have occurred.

The Canadians were, by all accounts, in a restricted training area. The U.S. was flying overhead, believed it was taking ground fire, and it does seem that there was some, what sources say, misidentification, that somehow the pilots did not understand that what they were seeing on the ground were friendly forces -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right. Barbara Starr, thanks for the 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.