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CNN Sunday Morning

Many Civilians Reportedly Killed by U.S. Bombing Near Jalalabad

Aired December 02, 2001 - 09:20   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: In northeastern Afghanistan, allied air raids are focusing on the mountains and the caves near Tora Bora, where al Qaeda guerrillas may be hiding. Bombs have rained on that area for the last 24 hours, and there are conflicting reports of civilian casualties.

CNN's Brent Sadler is in Jalalabad with the latest including, we warn you, graphic video -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... let's clear up, if we can, some of those conflicting reports. In the past couple of hours, we've had the first video that's come out of a district called Agam (ph). It's about a two-hour drive from Jalalabad.

We sent one of our Afghan helpers out there with a small camera, and he came back with this rather disturbing video, which does just show extreme devastation of a couple of village areas, about two hours -- between two hours and five hours walk to the Tora Bora mountain range.

Now, this video shows the aftermath, say regional commanders, in the Mujahideen here, of a village called Madoqalai (ph) that was hit within the past 24 hours. That had heavy loss of life, according to regional commanders. The video shows many graves. It shows people digging for the remains of victims.

And regional commanders from the Mujahideen are also telling us that a district office where their own Mujahideen people have been sent to negotiate a surrender with suspected al Qaeda terrorists in Tora Bora, that building had also been targeted within the past 24 hours or so.

Certainly we're seeing many casualties that have been brought to Jalalabad in the past 48 hours. And this, say the Mujahideen leaders here in this city, is the result, they say, of two days, successive days, of U.S. bombing of Tora Bora. That's a prime suspected hideout for al Qaeda or Taliban activists, and it's been a high priority for U.S. targets.

Now we're told here by the authorities that they expect that there will be some sort of response from the al Qaeda people suspected of being there within the next 24 hours. If not, they say -- if they don't surrender or clear out of there, the Mujahideen say they are prepared to go ahead with some sort of assault. They want U.S. air support for an assault against that region in the coming days -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Brent Sadler joining us live from Jalalabad with what were very heartbreaking photographs. Thank you very much, Brent.

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