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CNN Saturday Morning News

Search for bin Laden Focuses on Eastern Afghanistan

Aired December 08, 2001 - 07:01   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The hunt for Osama bin Laden is focused today on eastern Afghanistan once again. U.S.-led forces are pounding positions around the White Mountains, home to the Tora Bora military complex. On the ground, the fight has been touch and go for anti-Taliban fighters.

CNN's Brent Sadler just returning from the front lines. He joins us live from near Tora Bora with the latest. Brent?

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Miles.

This has been a day of unbroken military activity by United States forces in the sky, air activity, B-52 bombers attacking the mountains behind me, now in shadow, the White Mountains, Tora Bora behind that ridge you campaign see behind me.

Now, as well as air activity from the sky, we've seen for the first time some real sustained efforts by al Qaeda to prevent any further advances by the anti-Taliban forces that make up the Eastern Alliance.

Just two or three hours ago, we were pinned down by pretty heavy mortar fire coming out of woods, and, we believe, cave complexes in the lower parts of the valley behind me, and mortar fire spilling across a road, preventing the media and preventing anti-Taliban warriors from moving any further forward.

That was going on shortly after several bomb blasts as a result of air strikes by U.S. bombers overhead. So no sign that al Qaeda is about to give up any time soon.

Also, speaking to one of the senior commanders of the anti- Taliban forces, they said that some of their front-line troops had seen -- and this is just hearsay reports, but nevertheless, I'll tell you about it, because it's interesting -- had seen what they say was a tall man on a horse.

Now, obviously this is unconfirmed. It's difficult to see in this terrain. But you can, given the range of the mortar fire today, really see some parts of those woods. And some of the fighters on the front line say they saw a tall man riding a horse.

That coincides with radio traffic coming out of al Qaeda on walkie-talkies intercepted by the anti-Taliban forces side, saying that they heard conversations about how is the, quote, "sheik," perhaps there a reference to Osama bin Laden.

Back to you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Brent, let me just ask you this. Give us a sense of the scale there. How big an area is the focus of -- when we say this Tora Bora complex, I don't know that we have a good sense of how big an area is being searched.

SADLER: Well, it's not a question of searching at the moment, Miles. If you look behind me, pretty much square behind my shoulders there, that area, it's believed, given what we saw today with mortar fire coming from that zone, is pretty much peppered with various positions of al Qaeda.

What their force strength is, we do not know. But we do know that after more than a week of very heavy, intense bombing by U.S. war planes, really pinpointing these areas behind me, that still, after all that, al Qaeda has enough firepower out there to put down a barrage of mortars, probably only five kilometers from where they are, to cut off a road for journalists.

And that sent back, and we saw it just as the sun was setting, within the past hour, that sent back the Eastern Alliance troops that were in a forward position, sent them back in their pickups and vehicles, back to a safer position.

So it does show you the extent of ground to be covered behind me is very, very difficult. And this, you must imagine, is also the lowland area. This really isn't anywhere near Tora Bora. That's some distance behind the mountains that you can see -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Brent Sadler near Tora Bora. Thank you very much -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: Miles, following the Taliban surrender of Kandahar, U.S. Marines carrying photographs of top terror suspects are now turning their sights on Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Rob Morrison is the pool correspondent on the ground with the U.S. Marines in southern Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MORRISON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Marines here at Camp Rhino south of Kandahar are acutely aware of the situation that is changing in the city of Kandahar to the north. In fact, it's caused them to modify their mission just a bit. Officials say that they are now out there searching for the al Qaeda members as they have been doing. Those are the forces who have promised to fight to the death.

They say they're not necessarily looking for the Taliban forces any more, those Taliban forces who would be willing to lay down their weapons and walk away. Now, the Marines who are out there patrolling for these forces right now and doing interdictions, these are the so-called hunter- killer teams that are out there. They patrol around this base, Camp Rhino. They also patrol, the reconnaissance teams, a little bit closer to the city of Kandahar. They are heavily armed with helicopters. They travel in vehicles, .50-caliber machine guns, Mark- 19 grenade launchers, and tow missiles.

In fact, two nights ago, Marines were involved in their first offensive ground action near Kandahar. They came up on some enemy forces who were trying to run a roadblock that was set up by the Marines. The Marines had no choice but to fire upon them. They called in fixed-wing aircraft. Seven enemy forces were killed in that attack, and three vehicles were destroyed.

That's the situation on the ground.

Now, here at Camp Rhino today, something that -- a very unusual sight, to say the very least, but a very moving one as well. There was a burial ceremony held here at Camp Rhino, and it was for an Afghan opposition fighter who was killed along with some other Afghan opposition fighters and three Americans. That was the friendly fire incident that happened north of Kandahar earlier this week.

Well, it was a nondenominational ceremony, but the Marines took great care to observe all Muslim traditions. A Marine major, who is a Catholic layperson, spoke, a Marine corporal who is a Muslim oversaw all the ceremonies. There was a 21-gun salute. And it really went to show that there is unity among these coalition forces and the opposition forces who are bound together by a common cause, and that cause is freedom.

The family members of this deceased Afghan fighter will receive a map that marked the coordinates of the grave, as well as a grave registration form, and the casings from the live rounds that were fired during the 21-gun salute.

Reporting from southern Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines, I'm Rob Morrison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: And what is the Pentagon saying about the Marines at that makeshift base camp? Let's go to Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon for us this morning for more on that -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Jeanne. The Pentagon says that the Marines can expect to be probed by enemy forces, and that's exactly what's been happening.

As you've seen in the report, Taliban forces coming close to the perimeter, approaching it, taking stock of the Marines and their defenses there, and in fact, through Friday and into part of Saturday in Afghanistan, there's been some touch-and-go between Marines and Taliban forces on the ground as they explore the perimeter, nothing major, no incidents of consequence. The Marines using helicopters and also armored vehicles went out after a convoy, some fast-moving vehicles approaching the perimeter, didn't find anything, they moved on. All of this, of course, after Thursday night-Friday morning's incident with the Taliban convoy, in which seven Taliban were killed and several vehicles were destroyed.

I want to get back to Brent Sadler's report from eastern Afghanistan. We have a map that we want to show you, just to give you a refresher course in geography, let you know where Tora Bora is, where Brent is reporting from and where some of these strikes are taking place.

Up in the right-hand corner of that map, the map of Afghanistan, around the red shaded area there over in the right-hand tip of the Afghanistan -- there you go, thank you very much -- that's where Tora Bora is, a massive submountainous complex at the top of that mountain range. It is within the mountains, several stories tall, we're told, built partly with CIA money back when mujahideen were fighting Soviet forces back in the 1980s.

It is thought that bin Laden is there, though, as Brent mentioned, there's been anecdotal evidence to suggest that a man on a horse, somebody referred to as "the sheik," may be actually directing movements. But exactly where Osama bin Laden is, the head of the U.S.-led effort says he's not sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, CENTRAL COMMAND: There are certain areas where we have opposition groups very much in control in Afghanistan, and of course there are other areas where we do not yet have opposition groups in control of territory. And so I will tell you honestly, no, I'm not sure that I know where bin Laden is right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: And the other question of the hour, where is Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of the Taliban? He too is someone the United States would like to find. He apparently disappeared or went into hiding during that power transfer in Kandahar on Friday.

And again, General Franks says that, as far as he knows, Mullah Omar may be in the Kandahar area, though there have been reports that he escaped to the northern sections of Afghanistan. General Franks says he still thinks he's -- that Mullah Omar is in the south, missing but not necessarily lost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKS: I do not have a reason to suspect that he has vanished. We continue to work on the area around Kandahar, and we simply do not know where is right now. But that does not lead me to believe that he's vanished.

(END VIDEO CLIP) AIKEN: So Jeanne, Pentagon officials say that, as Brent reported, you can expect the pressure to continue on Tora Bora, bombing continuous in that area as they try to wear down the al Qaeda forces that are using that mountain hideout -- Jeanne.

MESERVE: Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon. Thank you.

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