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American Morning
Afghan Attack
Aired December 17, 2002 - 09:02 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: Back to Kabul now, where two American soldiers and their Afghan interpreter were injured today on a grenade attempt at their jeep. The attackers were attempting to throw a second grenade when they were arrested.
Karl Penhaul is on the phone from Kabul right now with the very latest.
Karl, explain to us what happened.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, Afghan security chiefs have told us one of the American soldiers has suffered a leg wound, and the other was hit in the eye. Neither is believed to be suffering life-threatening injuries, although U.S. authorities here have declined to comment.
We understand from Afghan security chiefs that two men have been arrested, a 35-year-old and a 17-year-old. They have, as you said, thrown a grenade at the jeep-type vehicle that the Americans are traveling in, and were arrested before they managed to toss a second grenade -- Paula.
ZAHN: Do we know what the soldiers were in the process of doing?
PENHAUL: We don't, Paula. We don't know what unit they were from. We do understand from military sources here that they were not on patrol. But, as I say, U.S. authorities are tight-lipped at the moment, and they haven't said what unit they were from, nor why they were traveling through this sector of town -- Paula.
ZAHN: Karl, I guess what I'm curious about, Kabul is patrolled by soldiers from more than 20 different countries. How obvious would it be to the attacker that these indeed were American soldiers?
PENHAUL: They would certainly have to have been on the lookout to realize that these were American soldiers. These American soldiers are not part of the international peacekeeping force that routinely patrols Kabul. The Americans aren't, in fact, involved in those operations patrolling in Kabul, and as you'll see from the images we now have, that the vehicle that these American soldiers were traveling in does not appear to be a military vehicle -- Paula.
ZAHN: And, finally, are officials telling you anything about the two men who attacked these soldiers, what they had in mind here, what their motivation was?
PENHAUL:The two men are currently under interrogation in intelligence service headquarters. In initial questioning, according to one of the security chiefs we've spoken to, the two men said they threw the grenade because they hate Americans -- Paula.
ZAHN: Chilling to hear, and I guess we'll come back to you as more details become available.
Karl Penhaul thank you for that live report. Appreciate it.
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 December 17, 2002 - 09:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back to Kabul now, where two American soldiers and their Afghan interpreter were injured today on a grenade attempt at their jeep. The attackers were attempting to throw a second grenade when they were arrested.
Karl Penhaul is on the phone from Kabul right now with the very latest.
Karl, explain to us what happened.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, Afghan security chiefs have told us one of the American soldiers has suffered a leg wound, and the other was hit in the eye. Neither is believed to be suffering life-threatening injuries, although U.S. authorities here have declined to comment.
We understand from Afghan security chiefs that two men have been arrested, a 35-year-old and a 17-year-old. They have, as you said, thrown a grenade at the jeep-type vehicle that the Americans are traveling in, and were arrested before they managed to toss a second grenade -- Paula.
ZAHN: Do we know what the soldiers were in the process of doing?
PENHAUL: We don't, Paula. We don't know what unit they were from. We do understand from military sources here that they were not on patrol. But, as I say, U.S. authorities are tight-lipped at the moment, and they haven't said what unit they were from, nor why they were traveling through this sector of town -- Paula.
ZAHN: Karl, I guess what I'm curious about, Kabul is patrolled by soldiers from more than 20 different countries. How obvious would it be to the attacker that these indeed were American soldiers?
PENHAUL: They would certainly have to have been on the lookout to realize that these were American soldiers. These American soldiers are not part of the international peacekeeping force that routinely patrols Kabul. The Americans aren't, in fact, involved in those operations patrolling in Kabul, and as you'll see from the images we now have, that the vehicle that these American soldiers were traveling in does not appear to be a military vehicle -- Paula.
ZAHN: And, finally, are officials telling you anything about the two men who attacked these soldiers, what they had in mind here, what their motivation was?
PENHAUL:The two men are currently under interrogation in intelligence service headquarters. In initial questioning, according to one of the security chiefs we've spoken to, the two men said they threw the grenade because they hate Americans -- Paula.
ZAHN: Chilling to hear, and I guess we'll come back to you as more details become available.
Karl Penhaul thank you for that live report. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
