This was a terrible day and my heart goes out to all of the families and friends of the fallen, both in the U.S. and in Canada. Rest in peace. –Matt
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Seven US agents killed in Afghan suicide attack: CIA
12/31/2009
WASHINGTON — Seven CIA agents were killed and six wounded in a suicide attack on a US base in eastern Afghanistan, the Central Intelligence Agency said on Thursday.
The US spy agency said the employees were killed Taliban bomber managed Wednesday to penetrate the defenses of a base in the province of Khost, detonating an explosives belt in a room described as a gym.
CIA chief Leon Panetta told the agency that “seven of their colleagues were killed and six others were injured on Wednesday at a forward operating base in Khost Province, Afghanistan. The casualties were the result of a terrorist attack,” the CIA said in a statement.
The agency did not reveal the names of those killed, citing the sensitivity of their work in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon said the base, used by the CIA as well as one of many provincial reconstruction teams that dot Afghanistan, was located close to the Pakistan border. Teams operating at the facility were tasked with delivering humanitarian assistance and stabilizing difficult areas.
“Those who fell yesterday were far from home and close to the enemy, doing the hard work that must be done to protect our country from terrorism,” Panetta said in his message Thursday.
The CIA director said US military doctors and nurses managed to save the lives of other agency workers wounded in the attack, and ordered flags at CIA’s Virginia headquarters outside Washington flown at half-staff to honor those who died.
“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, adding that the loved ones those who died “are in our thoughts and prayers — now and always.”
The attack appeared to have killed more US intelligence personnel than have died since the start of the US-led invasion in 2001. The Central Intelligence Agency has acknowledged the deaths of four CIA officers in Afghanistan since then.
Story here.
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Canadians killed in Afghan attack
12/31/2009
Four Canadian soldiers and a journalist have been killed in an attack in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar.
The Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility for detonating the roadside bomb used in the attack.
The journalist has been identified as Michelle Lang, 34, from the Calgary Herald, who had just arrived on her first assignment in the country.
This has been the deadliest year for foreign troops since the 2001 invasion. Canada’s toll stands at 32 for 2009.
It has lost 138 troops in total in the course of the war.
This is the bloodiest attack in a single incident for Canadian troops in Afghanistan this year.
Qari Mohammad Yusuf Ahmadi told the Associated Press the bomb had exploded close to a bridge in Kandahar province.
The armoured vehicle in which the group was travelling was touring local reconstruction projects.
‘Very saddened’
Ms Lang was the third journalist to die in Afghanistan this year, Reuters news agency reports.
An award-winning health reporter, her colleagues at the newspaper were said to have been devastated by the news of her death.
She was recently engaged to be married and described as bright, quick-witted and kind.
“We are all very saddened to hear this tragic news,” Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert said in a statement.
“Michelle covered health issues with professionalism, accuracy and thoroughness.”
The BBC’s Lee Carter, in Toronto, says the deaths will add to the conviction felt by many Canadians that the country has carried a disproportionate number of casualties, especially in comparison to some European Nato allies.
Canada has a 2,800-strong force in Afghanistan, but the deployment has become increasingly unpopular at home and the troops are scheduled to be withdrawn at the end of 2011.
Story here.