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CNN Sunday Morning

U.S. Forces Canvassing Caves in Operation Anaconda

Aired March 17, 2002 - 08:08   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda continues. The worst fighting ended about a week ago. So now U.S.- led forces are canvassing caves, looking for enemy fighters and information. Our Martin Savidge joins us now live from Bagram Air Base with the latest on the war -- hello again, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Kyra.

Maybe in the background you can see that there is a de-mining team that is at work. It's a reminder that the Bagram Air Base itself is potentially a hazardous place; leftover legacies from the long-term warfare that has been racking this country for some time.

Operation Anaconda, as you mentioned, is continuing. It is now two weeks and two days since it began. And though there has been no significant fighting in almost a week, there are continuing, though, to be clashes with forces up in an area of topography that's known as The Whale. This is some new footage that came into us from the front lines. Canadian forces and members of the 10th Mountain continue to work over that very large mountain ridge looking for remaining pockets of al Qaeda and Taliban, and in some cases they're finding them.

They are specifically trying to find them; trying to draw their fire. As part of this operation, what they do is purposely make contact with what remaining cells of fighters that are out there. Once an exchange of gunfire or fire fight takes place, then they can quickly identify where the terrorists are hiding and then call in close air support of use what are called AT-4s. These are a shoulder- launched missile that quickly goes in and destroys the cave and those that are inside as well.

A number of bodies have been discovered up there; large supplies of weapons. But most important of all, they are finding documents, diaries and journals that were kept by the al Qaeda and Taliban forces themselves. They're written in other languages besides English. Most of the fighters that were in the mountain area there are believed to have been non-Afghan Taliban. And that information could give them more insight in the operation of al Qaeda itself and where al Qaeda may be heading next. And, most important of all, where the leaders of al Qaeda and the Taliban may still be.

This may seem like a rather tedious and perhaps not so hazardous job, but that would be incorrect. It is still very dangerous, the mopping up procedure. Some soldiers have begun returning for the Canadian forces. That's significant; they haven't been in a combat operation for over 50 years. All of the soldiers, now veterans of Operation Anaconda, say they don't necessarily look forward to getting into a fight on the next operation, but they know what they're up against now. And forewarned is forearmed -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Martin Savidge, thank you so much.

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