US citizen killed in Kabul embassy CIA annexe

A US citizen has been shot dead by an Afghan employee at an annexe to the US embassy in Kabul used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), officials said Monday.

Reuters/Omar Sobhani

The attack at the Ariana Hotel compound late Sunday also wounded another US citizen. The gunman, who is believed to have been an Afghan employee, was killed, embassy officials said.

An Afghan government official speaking anonymously to AFP said the Ariana compound was used by the CIA spy agency. US officials refused to comment on the claim.

The killing follows last week’s assassination of Afghan peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani and a 19-hour assault targeting the US embassy earlier this month.

The US is locked in a diplomatic row with Pakistan with the Americans accusing the Interservices Intelligence agency (ISI) of working with the Haqqani network, which it blamed for the embassy attack.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has dismissed the claim as an attempt to hide the US's "disarray" in Afghanistan but is expected tocall a cross-party conference, following a meeting of generals over the weekend.

A Pakistani official on Monday told AFp that the country would not launch an offensive against the group.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Taliban. Spokesperson
Zabihullah Mujahid told the AFP news agency Monday that he was looking into
what had happened.

A May attack on a military hospital is thought to have been planned with help from inside the Afghan security forces. In December 2009, seven Americans were killed in a suicide attack on a CIA base in Khost, eastern Afghanistan, carried out by a Jordanian triple agent.

Although insider attacks would seem to be a sign that the insurgents have sympathisers working with foreigners or inside the security forces, officials from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) say that many are committed by Afghans suffering from combat stress or following personal disagreements.