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CNN Sunday Morning

U.S. Air Strikes Pound Kabul

Aired October 14, 2001 - 09:08   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: For the seventh straight night, U.S. air strikes hit Afghan cities. The strikes on Kandahar were some of the fiercest in the weeklong action. The capital, Kabul, was also targeted in the overnight attacks. Let's go to CNN Sheila Cast at the Pentagon with details -- Sheila.

SHEILAH KAST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Martin. As you said, U.S. planes pounded Kandahar for several hours. Sources told CNN that a Taliban military headquarters was hit there last night. And over Kabul, it appears that U.S. airplanes control the skies there. Bombing was reported before dawn, but during daylight, planes, apparently U.S. planes were seen in Kabul.

In one of Kabul's neighborhoods where U.S. bombs fell by mistake on Saturday, residents there continue to clean up. Reports from the area said that the mistake apparently killed four people, injured another eight. the 2,000-pound bomb had been intended for a military helicopter at the Kabul Airport but it missed its mark by a mile and ended up in the neighborhood.

It is called a Joint Direct Attack Munition or JD munition or JDAM. It's supposed to automatically find its target after it's released from the plane. It can be programmed before takeoff or the flight crew can manually adjust it. and the Pentagon has not made it clear what part of the targeting process went wrong and caused the accident.

The Pentagon did issue a statement that said, "We regret the loss of any civilian life. U.S. forces are intentionally striking only military and terrorist targets. They take great care in their targeting process to avoid civilians." But this is the second accident the U.S. has acknowledged in this first week of the war. Four Afghan civilians were killed on Monday in a U.S. bombing raid -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Sheilah Kast at the Pentagon. Thanks very much for that update. We'll be in touch throughout the day. Thank you.

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