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CNN Live Sunday

Operation Anaconda Continues

Aired March 10, 2002 - 18:06   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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The biggest battle of the war in Afghanistan is not over yet, and while U.S. forces control the region, entrenched Taliban and al Qaeda forces stand ready to fight it out to the bitter end. CNN's Kathleen Koch has more on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Helicopters continue ferrying U.S. forces to and from the battlefront, rearming and repositioning them for the fight ahead. Pentagon officials say when the battle first began a week ago, one U.S. trained Afghan unit did not perform as expected, leaving U.S. troops to step in. Those officials also confirmed that Taliban and al Qaeda forces seemed to know the offensive was coming. The general commanding U.S. troops said the level of resistance was not expected.

GENERAL TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I would not downplay the possibility that forces who moved into this area got into a heck of a firefight at some point that they did not anticipate. I think that's entirely possible. I think we've seen it in the past, and to be very honest with you, I think we'll see it in the future.

KOCH: Also unexpected, the number of enemy fighters hiding.

GENERAL RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIE4FS OF STAFF: Before we went in there, we heard everywhere from 200 to several thousand. We think there were hundreds, and what's left we think is a small part of that, but it's still going to take some time to figure that out.

KOCH: Between 500 and 700 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have been killed thus far, according to U.S. military sources. U.S. B-52 bombers continued strikes on the area Sunday. Administration officials say they don't believe the fierceness of the battle necessarily means a top leader, like Osama bin Laden, is holed up with the fighters.

RICE: The important point here is not so much whether there might be leadership there, but to give them no place to find sanctuary, no place to regroup and to try to hurt us.

KOCH: Some prisoners have been taken during the fighting. It's unclear how many or whether they've given the U.S. any useful information on the forces remaining. KOCH (on camera): Military officials say Operation Anaconda will continue until those final fighters are killed or surrender, that as the Pentagon watches for other pockets of resistance in Afghanistan that could require U.S. action.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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