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American Morning

U.S. Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

Aired May 20, 2002 - 09:01   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: Word of a new American death in Afghanistan, where Anderson Cooper is on assignment -- good morning, Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Paula.

The sad news was confirmed this morning by a U.S. military spokesman. What we know is that a patrol of U.S. special forces was apparently ambushed in the Paktia province in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. They came under fire; they returned fire. And in the process, somehow one of the special forces soldiers was killed.

This, of course, in the region of eastern Afghanistan, where the British are leading Operation Condor. It is not clear if this patrol of the U.S. special forces was in support of Operation Condor or whether it was a separate mission. However, the U.S. Military spokesman, Maj. Brian Hillferty (ph), said that this death will not, and I repeat, not stop further military actions here.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure the mood has changed. I think all the soldiers here and even the civilians who are supporting us, we all understand this is dangerous business. This is a war. The United States and I think the civilization is at war against terrorism. So we realize there are risks. We realize there will be casualties. So one casualty doesn't deter us, it certainly makes us realize and understand mortality more. But we are determined to see this mission out to its end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: U.S. special forces here are conducting incredibly complex and incredibly crucial operations both on the ground and in training. In a few minutes, about 20 minutes from now, I'll have an inside report some special forces operation training. What they hope will be a brand-new Afghan national army -- Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks, Anderson. We will be checking in with you in a short while.

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