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CNN Live Sunday

Army Rangers Identified After Helicopter Crash

Aired October 21, 2001 - 15:36   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: Today begins the third week of the U.S. campaign against Afghanistan's Taliban regime.

CNN's Sheilah Kast joining us now from the Pentagon with the latest on U.S. military operations -- Sheilah.

SHEILAH KAST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. The Pentagon now has identified the two Army Rangers who died when their helicopter crashed in southwestern Pakistan yesterday. They are specialists John J. Edmonds, age 20, of Cheyenne, Wyoming and Private First Class Christopher T. Stoneseifer, age 28, of Missoula, Montana. There's no word on when their remains will return to the United States.

The cause of that crash is still being investigated. The search and rescue helicopter was supporting the ground raid, the first acknowledged ground raid the U.S. has done in Afghanistan. One possible factor, the Pentagon has said, is that cloud of dust picked up by the rotor blades, as the helicopter was landing.

Since that ground raid, the U.S. has continued bombing Afghanistan. General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that U.S. airplanes flew nearly 100 sorties over Afghanistan yesterday, but he did not say how many targets were hit.

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RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Operations will continue again today. Let me just remind you though, this is operation over Afghanistan is only a small part of the effort on global war on terrorism. This is the most visible part right now, but it's simply that. It's Afghanistan. This is a much broader effort that we have to keep in mind and that we're planning for.

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KAST: And the U.S. is continuing to drop food aid also for refugees in Afghanistan. Miles?

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Sheilah Kast at the Pentagon.

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