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American Special Forces Soldier Injured in Karzai Assassination Attempt

Aired September 05, 2002 - 12:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A story we've been following all morning, and that is the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai, as he was traveling with the governor of Kandahar. What we can tell you so far is someone in an Afghan military uniform shot the governor in the neck, missing Hamid Karzai. U.S. special forces guarding Karzai opened fire, killing the gunman, in addition to a number of other men accompanying that gunman.
Our Ryan Chilcote has been following this story for us all morning. He joins us live from Kandahar, via videophone. What more can you tell, Ryan?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, very disturbing news here at the Kandahar airbase. We have just been told that one U.S. serviceman from special operations was injured in that assassination attempt. He is being treated here at the Kandahar air base. We do not know more about his condition or the nature of that injury. All we've been told there is a U.S. serviceman from special operations that was somehow injured, that is being treated here, so some disturbing news there.

But on a more positive, the governor of Kandahar Mr. Sherzai, Governor Sherzai, has been released. He actually came out of the facility where he was being treated, smoking his cigarette, got in the car and drove away, having been released by his doctor. So good news for the governor of Kandahar.

U.S. servicemen here are very concerned for one of their own soldiers, a special operation soldier that was injured in that same attack.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Ryan, do we know if that special-ops soldier that was injured was one that opened fire and took down the alleged gunman?

CHILCOTE: We do not know. I have told you everything I know about that soldier. Details are sketchy at this point. One would assume that he was obviously in immediate vicinity of the president and the governor, given the fact he himself was injured in that attack, but we do not know whether he was one of those men that opened fire, as we've been told that U.S. servicemen opened fire and killed three of those men. That's based on reports out of Bagram air base. The U.S. Army saying that U.S. servicemen killed three men there, but we do not know whether he was one of those that opened fire. PHILLIPS: You mentioned the governor of Kandahar is feeling fine and has been released. What about Hamid Karzai. Where is he now? And what is his status?

CHILCOTE: The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, is apparently, we understand from the State Department, is being airlifted from Kandahar to the capital of Afghanistan, to Kabul. It's about a 2 1/2 hour helicopter flight. It's a little bit less in a fixed-wing aircraft. We do not know whether he is already in the air, or is about to go or what, because we are currently here on the Kandahar air base in somewhat of a lockdown situation. We're not able to move around the base very freely. That, of course, is because there is a very heightened state of security here on the base in connection with fact that they would like to get the president of Afghanistan out of Kandahar in a safe fashion.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Ryan Chilcote, in Kandahar, via videophone, thank you.

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