Afghan Taliban Claim Responsibility for Attack on CIA Employees
VOA News 31 December 2009
Taliban militants are taking credit for separate attacks that killed eight Americans, including seven CIA officers, inside a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan, as well as four Canadian soldiers and a journalist in the south.
The Taliban said the suicide attack in eastern Khost province Wednesday was carried out by a man wearing an Afghan national army officer's uniform. He was able to detonate an explosive vest near the base's gym.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency later confirmed the attack killed seven of its employees and wounded six others. The eighth American killed in the attack worked for the State Department. A CIA statement did not give details about what its employees were doing.
The attack by the suicide bomber is believed to be one of the single deadliest against the U.S. intelligence agency. It still is not clear how the bomber gained access to the base.
In southern Kandahar province, a roadside bomb killed four Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist who was traveling with them.
Elsewhere, unknown gunmen kidnapped two French journalists and at least two Afghans traveling with them northeast of Kabul on Wednesday.
Afghan police Thursday said militants in southern Uruzgan province beheaded six Afghans for cooperating with government authorities. Police said they found the victims' headless bodies near the provincial capital, Tarin Kot. They also found a seventh victim who required treatment for serious neck injuries.
Also Thursday, the Afghan government is demanding that NATO forces hand over those troops involved in a deadly clash in Kunar province on Sunday.
Afghan officials say troops killed 10 civilians, including eight students, without provocation. The United Nations said eight of the 10 Afghans killed during the raid were students enrolled in local schools. The statement also said insurgents were in the area at the time. It urged Afghan and NATO forces to continue investigating.
On Wednesday, Afghan officials claimed another incident involving foreign troops had killed eight civilians near the provincial capital of Helmand. Officials blamed an airstrike, but are continuing to investigate.
Afghan officials, including President Karzai, have been harshly critical of military operations that lead to civilian deaths. They have called for a halt to airstrikes and nighttime house raids. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has made protecting civilians the top priority for foreign troops.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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