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CNN Saturday Morning News

Northern Alliance Says U.S. Strikes on Taliban are Effective

Aired November 03, 2001 - 11:03   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: Now to the military campaign in Afghanistan. Allied forces have been hitting hard against Taliban front lines. The rebel commanders say that pounding is working.

Our Satinder Bindra is in northern Afghanistan with more on the U.S.-led strikes there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As night falls in northeastern Afghanistan, we are hearing a heavy exchange of small- arms fire. All through the day today, we've heard and seen U.S. bombers drop several bombs on front-line Taliban positions, which you can see just over my shoulder.

The response from the Taliban side was to fire antiaircraft guns, but it appeared they were ineffective because these U.S. bombers were flying very high. It looked like they were U.S. B-52 bombers. We've been here in this sector for about a week now, but this is the heaviest and most accurate U.S. bombing that we've witnessed.

Elsewhere, just southwest of here towards the strategic city of Mazar-e Sharif, there has been more intensive ground fighting. United Front or Northern Alliance soldiers say their troops have captured significant parts of a district which is just south of Mazar-e Sharif. They say heavy fighting broke out last night. This fighting lasted three hours.

At the end of it, United Front or Northern Alliance troops say, 400 Taliban troops defected, another 200 surrendered. But the United Front also claims that they captured significant and large amounts of military hardware, which included 50 pickup trucks. None of these claims can be independently verified, and all that the Taliban are saying for the moment is there is heavy and intense fighting going on just south of Mazar-e Sharif.

Satinder Bindra, CNN, Ihonam (ph) Hill, northeastern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Now for the latest details on the U.S. War Against Terrorism, we turn to CNN's Jonathan Aiken who's standing by live at the Pentagon -- Jonathan. JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Marty, while Satinder gives you a wrap-up of what's happening in northeast Afghanistan, we can tell you closer to Kabul, to the south and to the east, it's been a busy day for U.S. fighter warplanes. F-18s supposedly hitting areas north of Kabul along the Taliban front-lines.

Northern Alliance commanders are quoted as saying that the attacks have been sustained, and that they've been going on day and night with heavy bombardment. And also say that they're quite pleased with the accuracy of these latest attacks. Saying that, in fact, they have increased the number of defectors from the Taliban over to their side.

The other big story in Afghanistan involving the Pentagon, bad weather; and it's affecting them in two different ways. First, we can tell you that a helicopter crashed while making a landing while on a search and rescue mission. Two choppers, in fact, ferrying troops in. One went down as it tried to land; the other one landed safely. The crew of that chopper was able to get the crew of the first chopper out, four people altogether. We're told they're being treated for non-life threatening injuries, that everyone's OK.

We are told also that -- I'm sorry, after these choppers left the area, that F-18 -- or F-14 Tomcats from the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea conducted what is standard operating procedure in the Pentagon. They went in, found out where that chopper was and destroyed it with precision weapons. Standard procedure because there may be material -- items onboard that helicopter that the Pentagon does not want the Taliban to see.

Second, the incident, also in bad weather, involved an unmanned reconnaissance drone. You referred to it earlier, a Predator unmanned drone flying, apparently, in eastern Afghanistan. Went down in bad weather. The Taliban says it shot down this drone in the east. The Air Force says that weather is to blame, and it will not go after that drone.

We should also tell you that the Taliban is claiming that it shot down the two U.S. helicopters, killing 40 to 50 Americans. U.S. Central Command quite emphatic on that point, saying that no U.S. helicopters were shot down over Afghanistan -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: Jonathan, the Pentagon goes out of its way to stress that the American fighting force is an all-weather force. And yet, now as we hear, weather is proving to be problematic. What is the problem here?

AIKEN: Well, indeed, it's tough to forecast. And also you have to remember that Afghanistan is a country that has several different types of weather. In the south it can be relatively warm, while it is snowing in the mountains north of Kabul; and in the area where Satinder is up in northeast Afghanistan, there is snow on the mountaintops in some parts of the area. Sleet and freezing rain appear to be the issue with these two incidents that we just discussed. The weather has been problematic all week. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld saying on Thursday that the weather, in fact, was responsible for preventing some U.S. special operations forces from getting to the ground. I think what they're hoping for is a stretch of clear weather so they can get some more people in there and be able to conduct some more reconnaissance flights -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon, thank you.

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