Suicide Bomb Attack at Afghan CIA Base | Print | E-mail
Written by Steven J. DuBord
Thursday, 31 December 2009 11:00
A suicide bomber somehow managed to gain entry to a CIA base in eastern Afghanistan on December 30 and detonated explosives that killed at least eight Americans. This is thought to represent the deadliest single attack on U.S. intelligence personnel during the war in Afghanistan and one of the worst attacks ever suffered by the CIA.

The targeted facility is known as Forward Operating Base Chapman and is located in the eastern Afghan province of Khost. This area borders North Waziristan, the part of Pakistan where al-Qaeda’s home base is believed to be located.

According to a Washington Post story on December 31, U.S. government officials report that eight other people were wounded, several seriously. U.S. sources confirmed that all the dead and injured were civilians, and said they thought all or most were CIA employees or contractors. Additionally, sources mentioned that at least one Afghan civilian was killed in the attack.

Details are vague at the moment, though it is possible this attack has killed more U.S. intelligence officers than have died during the previous eight years of conflict in Afghanistan. Prior to this attack, the CIA had admitted to four officers being killed in Afghanistan.

One U.S. official stated that the suicide bombing took place in the base’s fitness center, but how the bomber infiltrated the heavily guarded U.S. post, which is an operations and surveillance center for the CIA, remains unknown. The Associated Press reported that the Taliban has taken responsibility for the bombing, with a Taliban spokesman claiming the perpetrator was “an Afghan National Army officer wearing a suicide vest.â€