Suicide bomb victims included CIA officer

WASHINGTON – A CIA officer was among those killed by a suicide bomber in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, sources familiar with the incident said, in the latest of a series of fatal insider attacks that have undermined American efforts to turn security over to Afghan forces.

A NATO spokesman said the bomber was a member of Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, or NDS. An NDS spokesman disputed that, telling the Associated Press that the attacker had worn an Afghan uniform to gain access to the building in Kandahar.

A U.S. official said the bomber had served on the Afghan police force for six years before moving to the NDS. He said officials believe the attack was a Taliban operation targeting NDS officers. The bomber was noticed acting suspiciously but detonated the device before anyone could shoot him.

The bomber blew himself up as Americans and Afghan officials were arriving to deliver new office furniture to the intelligence headquarters in Kandahar’s Maruf district. Two Americans and four Afghan intelligence agents were killed in the blast.

The Pentagon identified the U.S. military casualty as Spc. Brittany B. Gordon, 24, of St. Petersburg, Fla., assigned to the 572 Military Intelligence Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

The second American killed was a CIA officer deployed in Afghanistan, sources familiar with the situation said.