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Source: Jordanian double-agent killed 7
CIA officers in suicide blast
By Barbara Starr, CNN
The bomber came to the base camp in Khost near the Pakistan
border, a senior U.S. official said.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
U.S. official: Man had been used
by U.S., Jordan for intelligence
services
Source says man had given
"very detailed good information
that was of high interest"
Former official: Bomber was met
off-base by U.S. officials who
failed to search him
Man killed seven CIA officials
and a Jordanian military officer
last week in Afghanistan
RELATED TOPICS
Afghanistan
Central Intelligence Agency
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Washington (CNN) -- The suicide bomber
who killed seven CIA officials and a
Jordanian military officer last week in NewsPulse
Afghanistan was a Jordanian double-agent, Most popular stories right now
a former U.S. intelligence official told CNN
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senior U.S. official also confirmed.
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The man had been used by both countries' intelligence services in holidays
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"Yes, it was a joint U.S.-Jordanian source who had provided over the Explore the news with NewsPulse »
period of his cooperation a lot of very detailed good information that
was of high interest at the most senior levels of the U.S
government," the former U.S. intelligence official said.
The security breach occurred because the bomber was met off-
base by U.S. intelligence officials who failed to search him before
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Both the Jordanian and U.S. intelligence services believed the man Quick Job Search
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The bomber was identified as Human Khalil Abu-Mulal al Balawi,
from the Jordanian town of Zarqa, also home to the late Abu Musab
al Zarqawi, the one-time leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the former
intelligence official said.
Both the Jordanian and U.S. intelligence agencies apparently
believed al Balawi had been rehabilitated from extremist views and
were using him to hunt Ayman al Zawahiri, the second-ranking al
Qaeda official to Osama bin Laden, the former intelligence official
said.
Jordanian intelligence services have long covertly cooperated with
the United States, specifically in the hunt for al Zawahiri and bin
Laden, because of the ability of Jordanian agents to blend into the
al Qaeda organization, noted the former intelligence official.
Also killed in last week's attack in Afghanistan was Jordanian Army
Captain Sharif Ali bin Zeid, a cousin of King Abdullah of Jordan. The
Jordanian government has not publicly commented on the specific
circumstances of bin Zeid's death, but U.S. sources confirmed bin
Zeid was present and was the Jordanian operative working closely
with al Balawi.
The CIA refused to comment Monday, saying the matter was under
investigation. The bodies of the seven CIA employees were flown to
Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to a private ceremony attended
by CIA Director Leon Panetta, other agency and national security
officials, and friends and family.
 A Jordanian official who did not want to be identified said bin Zeid
"was killed on Wednesday in the line of duty as he was taking part in
a humanitarian mission carried out by the Jordan Armed Forces in
Afghanistan."

The Jordanian official added: "Jordan's position in the war on terror

is clear; we are fully committed to fighting al Qaeda, which is a threat
to Jordan as it is a threat to the United States. We are also
committed to continuing our cooperation with the United States and
the international community in the fight against terror and in
defeating al Qaeda."

In a posting on its Web site last week, the Taliban in Afghanistan

claimed the bomber was an Afghan National Army soldier.

On Sunday, however, Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud

said in an e-mail that "we claim the responsibility for the attack on
the CIA in Afghanistan."

"The suicide bomber was a Jordanian national. This will be admitted

by the CIA and the Jordanian government" the message said.

The attack occurred at a forward operating base, which a U.S.

intelligence official acknowledged was a crucial CIA post and a "hub
of activity." The main purpose of CIA forward operating bases in
Afghanistan, officials have noted, is to recruit informants and to plan
and coordinate covert operations, including drone surveillance and
targeting.

The attack was "a huge blow, symbolically and tactically," because it
eliminated such a large number of CIA officers, who can require
years to become ingrained in the region, said Reva Bhalla, director
of analysis for STRATFOR -- an international intelligence company.
In addition, the attack showed the ability of the Taliban to penetrate
perhaps the most difficult of targets -- a CIA base, she said.

Former CIA official Robert Richer called it "the greatest loss of life
for the Central Intelligence Agency since the Beirut Embassy
bombing" in 1983, which killed eight agents.

An American intelligence official vowed last week that the United

States would avenge the attack. Two of those killed were
contractors with private security firm Xe, formerly known as
Blackwater, a former intelligence official told CNN. The CIA
considers contractors to be officers.

On Sunday, a local administration official and an intelligence official

told CNN that two guided missiles struck a compound in the
Pakistani village of Musaki in North Waziristan suspected of being a
gathering place for local and foreign militants.

The attack killed Sadiq Noor, a teacher; his 9-year-old son; and
three people from outside the country, according to the sources,
who said the missiles were believed to have been fired by an
unmanned drone. There was no immediate U.S. confirmation of the
missile attack.

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