Afghanistan - CIA deaths

Taliban claim killing of eight Americans

Article published on the 2009-12-31 Latest update 2009-12-31 11:07 TU

Protesters in Kabul hold a picture of a boy, who they claim was killed by foreign forces during military operations in Afghanistan
(Photo: Reuters)

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a US base in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, which killed at least eight people on Thursday. US media report that all of the dead were agents of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Pentagon has refused to comment.

The Taliban, who often exaggerate death tolls, claim the attack on the Chapman base killed 16 people, all of them CIA officers.

They have named the suicide attacker as Samiullah and say he was an army officer. The Afghan Defence Ministry denies that claim.

The Washington Post newspaper puts the death toll at eight and says says they were all CIA officers, making this the deadliest attack on US intelligence agents since the US-led invasion in 2001. The agency admits to losing four officers up until now.

On Wednesday a roadside bomb killed five Canadians in the southern Helmand province. One of the dead was Calgary Herald reporter, Michelle Lang. According to national broadcaster CBC, the other four were soldiers.

Afghan authorities have launched a probe into reports that nine civilians were killed in a Nato air strike near the town of Lashkar Gah in Helmand on Wednesday.

Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) denies the dead were unarmed and says no Nato or US military personnel were involved in the incident.

About 1,500 people demonstrated in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, when news of the deaths came through. They used sticks to beat an effigy of US President Barack Obama and shouted "Death to Obama!".

There have been frequent protests about non-combatant deaths in Afghanistan and a report Tuesday indicated a rise in civilian deaths this year.