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CNN Saturday Morning News

U.S. Fighters Focus Bombing on Kabul

Aired October 27, 2001 - 09:07   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: As we edge toward the fourth week of U.S. military attacks in Afghanistan, fighter jets focused on targets around Kabul during the night.

CNN's Sheilah Kast is at the Pentagon. She's got more. Hi, Sheilah.

SHEILAH KAST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Yes, we're told by observers in the area that U.S. jets are pounding the hills around Kabul and the area near the airport. This comes after yesterday, when U.S. bombs hit by mistake Red Cross warehouses near Kabul. A total of eight bombs, each of them 2,000 pounds, hit warehouses. The first two bombs hit a set of warehouses. They were dropped by -- around dawn Friday by U.S. Navy jets, and at about the same time, another Navy jet aimed a smaller laser-guided bomb at the same warehouses. It missed and hit a residential area. And then several hours later, six more bombs from two B-52s hit the warehouse, the Red Cross warehouse complex.

Losing these warehouses, the Red Cross said, leaves it with just one that is stocked with food, medical supplies, blankets, clothing for the disabled in Kabul. A Red Cross spokesman said the buildings had been clearly marked and that they had been pointed out to U.S. officials.

The Pentagon expressed regret for what it called an "inadvertent strike." It said its preliminary investigation identified, quote, "human error in the targeting process" as the cause of the mistake.

And back at home, in another development, the Pentagon -- the Defense Department has awarded the biggest military contract in history. Lockheed Martin will build the next generation of fighter planes, called the Joint Strike Fighter, a contract that could turn out to be worth $200 billion. Lockheed Martin's plan for the X-35 won out over Boeing's plan for an X-32.

The Pentagon expects to buy about 3,000 of these planes, some of them land-based, some carrier-based, some vertical-landing. They will replace a range of current fighters, and it's possible that some other countries may buy the Joint Strike Fighter also.

Lockheed Martin estimates the contract will create at least 8,000 jobs -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Sheilah Kast, live from the Pentagon. thank you.

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