CIA bomber video calls for attacks in and outside US

Islamabad: The suicide bomber who killed CIA agents in Afghanistan had made a video calling on militants to avenge the death of the Pakistani Taliban leader by carrying out attacks in and outside the United States, al Jazeera said.

A pilot less US drone aircraft strike killed Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud last year. Al Jazeera reported on its website that the video was left as a message to the United States and its Arab ally Jordan by the bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, in which he tells them: "We say that we will never forget the blood of our Emir Baitullah Mehsud, God's mercy on him."

Balawi blew himself up on December 30 inside Forward Operating Base Chapman, a well-fortified US compound in Khost province in southeast Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, killing seven CIA officers.

It was the second-most deadly attack in CIA history. Al Jazeera quotes the former Jordanian doctor as saying it was the obligation of all of Mehsud's fighters "to retaliate for his death in the United States and outside the United States." Pakistan television station AAJ showed what it said was a video of Balawi sitting with Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, and reported he shared US and Jordanian state secrets with militants.

Hakimullah, Mehsud's successor, is leading a Taliban insurgency against Pakistan's pro-American government.

If the video is verified, it will point to big intelligence failures by the United States and Jordan, one of its most important Middle East allies.

It was not clear when or where the video was taken but the presence of Hakimullah Mehsud would suggest it was taken in Pakistan. The video is likely to focus more attention on Pakistan's efforts to wipe out militant groups along its northwest border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan, a front-line state in the US-led war on terrorism, is likely to feel vindicated by the video which would appear to show the Pakistani Taliban were behind the attack on the CIA. They and several groups claimed responsibility for it.

Facing constant US pressure, Pakistan has long argued that it should focus on fighting the Pakistani Taliban and cannot afford to open up new fronts against Afghan Taliban factions, whose members cross the border to attack Western forces in Afghanistan.

SHARED ALL SECRETS AAJ, identifying the bomber by his online name, Abu Dujana al-Khorasani, quoted him as saying he "shared all secrets of Jordanian and American intelligence with his companions." "Jordanian and American intelligence had offered him millions of dollars in exchange for spying on the mujahideen (holy warriors). But he rejected wealth and joined the mujahideen," AAJ said of Balawi.

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By showing links between the Pakistani Taliban and a Jordanian double agent, the video is likely to raise more questions about global US security measures. Responding to accusations of a CIA security blunder in Afghanistan, CIA Director Leon Panetta said in a column posted on the Washington Post website on Saturday that Balawi was about to be searched when he detonated his explosives. Balawi arrived directly from Pakistan in a red station wagon that sped through checkpoints at the CIA base to an improvised interrogation centre, the newspaper reported, citing US officials briefed on the incident.

The Jordanian doctor exited the car with one hand in his pocket. An American security guard approached him to conduct a pat-down search and asked Balawi to remove his hand. Instead, he triggered a switch, the Post reported.

Balawi was treated as a "superstar asset" because he had impressed his CIA handlers with "irrefutable proof" including "photograph-type evidence" that he had been in the presence of al Qaeda's top leaders, the Post said.

"This statement (from Balawi) further enhances current concerns involving regional and affiliate arms of al-Qaeda extending their operations outside of their localised areas of operation and reaching into the continental US," said Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, which monitors jihadist propaganda.

Hakimullah Mehsud lost his main bases in his South Waziristan bastion in a Pakistani offensive launched in mid-October. His whereabouts are not known but he is believed to have fled from South Waziristan to seek shelter with allies, possibly in North Waziristan.

The CIA deaths in Afghanistan came on the heels of an attempted Christmas Day bombing of a US-bound airliner.

US President Barack Obama took responsibility on Thursday for security failures leading up to that incident and ordered reforms. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the airplane bombing attempt, one of the most serious US security breaches and intelligence breakdowns since the September 11 attacks.