Seven CIA employees, including the station chief, were killed and six others wounded in a homicide bombing at a base in Afghanistan.

The CIA said Thursday that seven of its employees were killed and six others wounded in a homicide bombing at a base in Afghanistan. The Associated Press has learned that one of them was the chief of the CIA's post in Afghanistan's southeastern Khost Province.

CIA Director Leon Panetta said in a message to agency staff that the casualties sustained in Wednesday's strike at Forward Operating Base Chapman were the result of a terrorist attack.

Initial reports indicated that eight American civilians had been killed. There was no explanation for the discrepancy in Panetta's message, which was released by the CIA in an unusual step a day after one of the deadliest attacks on the agency in its history...

"Yesterday's tragedy reminds us that the men and women of the CIA put their lives at risk every day to protect this nation," he said. "Throughout our history, the reality is that those who make a real difference often face real danger," Panetta said.

No further information about the victims would be released," the CIA director said, "due to the sensitivity of their mission and other ongoing operations."

Separately, former CIA officials said an agent who ran the agency's base in Khost was among those killed by the attacker, who detonated a bomb-laden vest inside the compound.

Former CIA officials say the Khost chief was the mother of three. As base chief she would have directed and coordinated CIA operations and intelligence gathering in the province, a hotbed of Taliban and insurgent activity because of its proximity to Pakistan's lawless tribal region.

The former officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for the bombings that killed 14 people, including eight Americans and an Afghan in a homicide attack in the volatile east, and five Canadians in the south.

It was unclear how the bomber at US Forward Operating Base Chapman at the edge of Khost city was able to circumvent security. Khost is the capital of Khost province, which borders Pakistan and is a Taliban stronghold.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that an Afghan National Army officer wearing a homicide vest entered the base and blew himself up inside the gym. A US official who was briefed on Wednesday's blast also said it took place in the gym.

 

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