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American Morning
Six Suspected Al Qaeda Members Killed in Attack
Aired November 05, 2002 - 07:17 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: With one pinpoint missile strike, the U.S. may have struck a major blow against key al Qaeda operatives. Six suspected terrorists were killed yesterday in Yemen, when their car was hit by a U.S. Hellfire missile.
Among the dead: A man believed to have been a key planner in the attack on the USS Cole two years ago.
Here with more on this strike is CNN's national security correspondent David Ensor -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you may remember around this time yesterday, the first reports were suggesting that the car might have been blown up by a bomb its occupants were carrying.
Now, U.S. intelligence officials, I got the distinct impression, would have preferred that the public story stay that way. But, it has not.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): Knowledgeable sources say the blast that killed six al Qaeda suspects in a car in Yemen was caused by a U.S. Hellfire missile attack.
Among the six killed in the attack was this man, Abu Ali al- Harthi, also known as Qaed Senyan al-Harthi, who was once a senior bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, according to U.S. officials. This appears to be him in 1998.
U.S. officials believe al-Harthi was in charge of the al Qaeda organization in Yemen. Officials say he was one of the top 15 or so leaders of the organization worldwide.
He is also a suspect in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, another reason why Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said he hopes al-Harthi has indeed been killed.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Needless to say, he has been an individual that has been sought after as an al Qaeda member, as well as a suspected terrorist connected to the USS Cole. So, it would be a very good thing if he were out of business.
ENSOR: A knowledgeable official says al-Harthi and the others were killed by a Hellfire missile attack from an unmanned plane, a drone, run by the Central Intelligence Agency. However, spokesmen for the CIA and the Pentagon are refusing comment.
In Arkansas, President Bush did not comment directly on the incident in Yemen, but he did say this:
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the only way to treat them is what they are: international killers. And the only way to find them is to be patient and steadfast and hunt them down, and the United States of America is doing just that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Now, U.S. officials did not want to create additional problems for the government of Yemen, which is trying to help in the war on terrorism, but without angering fundamentalist Yemenis living in the tribal areas from which Osama bin Laden's family hails.
So, the U.S. missile attack in Yemen is a delicate matter. Still, some U.S. officials were so delighted at this important success in the war on terrorism that word of the U.S. role in the attack couldn't be kept secret -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, you say "delighted," so is this how the United States is going to target al Qaeda members in the future?
ENSOR: Well, judging by the words of President Bush, that is a possibility. He said that he's going to go after these people, follow them carefully, target them and take them out when need be.
This is the first time this has been done outside of Afghanistan, but not the first time it's been done. Now, this is a very efficient piece of technology. I say that efficient is perhaps a cruel word, but this is a man who is suspected of involvement in the Cole bombing, in which 17 U.S. sailors died, and this is a war -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Gotcha. We'll talk much more about this through AMERICAN MORNING this morning. Thank you, David Ensor.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired November 5, 2002 - 07:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: With one pinpoint missile strike, the U.S. may have struck a major blow against key al Qaeda operatives. Six suspected terrorists were killed yesterday in Yemen, when their car was hit by a U.S. Hellfire missile.
Among the dead: A man believed to have been a key planner in the attack on the USS Cole two years ago.
Here with more on this strike is CNN's national security correspondent David Ensor -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you may remember around this time yesterday, the first reports were suggesting that the car might have been blown up by a bomb its occupants were carrying.
Now, U.S. intelligence officials, I got the distinct impression, would have preferred that the public story stay that way. But, it has not.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): Knowledgeable sources say the blast that killed six al Qaeda suspects in a car in Yemen was caused by a U.S. Hellfire missile attack.
Among the six killed in the attack was this man, Abu Ali al- Harthi, also known as Qaed Senyan al-Harthi, who was once a senior bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, according to U.S. officials. This appears to be him in 1998.
U.S. officials believe al-Harthi was in charge of the al Qaeda organization in Yemen. Officials say he was one of the top 15 or so leaders of the organization worldwide.
He is also a suspect in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, another reason why Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said he hopes al-Harthi has indeed been killed.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Needless to say, he has been an individual that has been sought after as an al Qaeda member, as well as a suspected terrorist connected to the USS Cole. So, it would be a very good thing if he were out of business.
ENSOR: A knowledgeable official says al-Harthi and the others were killed by a Hellfire missile attack from an unmanned plane, a drone, run by the Central Intelligence Agency. However, spokesmen for the CIA and the Pentagon are refusing comment.
In Arkansas, President Bush did not comment directly on the incident in Yemen, but he did say this:
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the only way to treat them is what they are: international killers. And the only way to find them is to be patient and steadfast and hunt them down, and the United States of America is doing just that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Now, U.S. officials did not want to create additional problems for the government of Yemen, which is trying to help in the war on terrorism, but without angering fundamentalist Yemenis living in the tribal areas from which Osama bin Laden's family hails.
So, the U.S. missile attack in Yemen is a delicate matter. Still, some U.S. officials were so delighted at this important success in the war on terrorism that word of the U.S. role in the attack couldn't be kept secret -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, you say "delighted," so is this how the United States is going to target al Qaeda members in the future?
ENSOR: Well, judging by the words of President Bush, that is a possibility. He said that he's going to go after these people, follow them carefully, target them and take them out when need be.
This is the first time this has been done outside of Afghanistan, but not the first time it's been done. Now, this is a very efficient piece of technology. I say that efficient is perhaps a cruel word, but this is a man who is suspected of involvement in the Cole bombing, in which 17 U.S. sailors died, and this is a war -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Gotcha. We'll talk much more about this through AMERICAN MORNING this morning. Thank you, David Ensor.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
