Bomber posed as informer

Washington: A breach of security procedure at a heavily-guarded CIA base in Afghanistan allowed a lone Taliban suicide bomber, who was posing as an informant, to inflict one of the deadliest blows ever on the U.S. spy agency.

The bomber, who killed seven CIA officials and injured six others, was allowed to enter the compound without the mandatory security screening and search, the ABC news said on Friday based on information received from CIA officers.

It said the bomber, invited to the Forward Operating Base in the Khost province as a possible informant, was escorted to the gym at the fortified complex for a meeting with a senior CIA debriefer.

“When the bomber, who was dressed in an Afghan military uniform, arrived in the gym, he blew himself up, killing seven and seriously injuring an additional six officers who had gathered there to wait for him,” said the news channel. The second-largest single-day loss for America’s premier spy agency, reports said, has devastated the critical hub of CIA activities.

The U.S. embassy bombing in Beirut that killed eight CIA officers in 1983 is considered to be the deadliest attack so far on the agency.

U.S. President Barack Obama and CIA Director Leon E Panetta, have mourned the death of the CIA employees and wrote personal messages. — PTI