MIR ALI, Pakistan — The Pakistani Taliban claimed Friday that it used a turncoat CIA operative to carry out a suicide bombing that killed seven American CIA employees in Afghanistan as revenge for a top militant leader’s death in a U.S. missile strike.
The announcement was nearly impossible to verify independently because it involves covert operations in a dangerous region. It is highly unusual for the Pakistani Taliban to claim credit for an attack in Afghanistan, and the proclamation followed indications that the Afghan Taliban might have been involved.
CIA spokesman George Little could not confirm the account.
“There is much about the attack that isn’t yet known, but this much is clear: The CIA’s resolve to pursue aggressive counterterrorism operations is greater than ever,” he told The Associated Press.
The suicide bomber struck the CIA’s operation at Camp Chapman in eastern Khost province Wednesday. The base was used to direct CIA operations in Khost, a hotbed of insurgent activity because of its proximity to Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, former CIA officials said.
Among the seven killed was the chief of the operation, they said. Six other people were wounded.
Qari Hussain, a top militant commander with the Pakistani Taliban who is thought to be a suicide-bombing mastermind, said militants had been seeking to damage the CIA’s ability to launch missile strikes on the border’s Pakistani side.
Using remote-controlled aircraft, the U.S. has launched scores of such missile attacks in the tribal regions recently. The Washington Post reported Friday that the CIA base has been at the heart of the program.
