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CNN Sunday Morning

Number of Detainees Grows

Aired December 30, 2001 - 08:31   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get back to the war on terrorism. We want to get more now on the round of the POWs and the hunt for Osama bin Laden. With that, CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us from the Pentagon. Hi, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, the number of al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners that the U.S. now has in custody is growing. But that does not necessarily mean that they are giving interrogators the information that they want. Some 14 prisoners were led by U.S. Marines -- 14 additional prisoners led by U.S. Marines into the Kandahar jail facility last night. That brings to 139 the total that the U.S. has in custody now for questioning.

An infirmary has been opened there to help treat the detainees. Some are suffering from battle wounds. Others, though, from more serious illnesses like diabetes. A Marines spokesman tells CNN that some have been diagnosed with malaria and tuberculosis and have never seen a doctor in their lives.

The FBI has begun questioning some of those jailed al Qaeda warriors, and the "Washington Post" reports this morning that some say they had last seen Osama bin Laden around December 14. That was about four days before those prisoners were captured trying to sneak across the border from Afghanistan. However, the "Washington Post" does report that those same prisoners will not say where they saw Osama bin Laden or describe any of his potential escape routes.

The date that they mentioned, December 14, would be consistent with the last video tape of Osama bin Laden, which was believed to be recorded around December 11. That was also about roughly the time frame when the U.S. and the Eastern Alliance forces began converging on, and heavily bombing, the Tora Bora region, which was believed to be the last hideout of Osama bin Laden.

Now U.S. special forces and Eastern Alliance forces continue sifting through what is left of those cave and tunnel complexes. At this point, though, however, they found largely large stores of weapons and armaments, lots of papers revealing information about the al Qaeda terrorist network, but so far no Osama bin Laden.

Now this, as two U.S. B-1B bombers struck at a complex near the city of Gardez (ph), an eastern province of Afghanistan. The U.S. central command says that facility was believed to house some former Taliban top officials. That is the first bombing run that we have seen by U.S. aircraft since Wednesday of this past week.

Now another thing CNN has learned, sources tell us that the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division could soon be headed to the Kandahar airport. That sometime during the month of January, we're told, some advance Army troops have already been arriving there to prepare the airport for the arrival of the remainder of the 101st Airborne. And we're told that they're going to be replacing the Marine expeditionary units that had been put on the ground. They have completed, apparently, their job of establishing these forward operating bases in Afghanistan. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Kathleen Koch, live from the Pentagon, thank you so much.

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