U.S. media say the suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees and one Jordanian intelligence officer inside a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan last week was a Jordanian doctor who was an al-Qaida double agent.
NBC News on Monday quoted Western intelligence officials as identifying the suicide bomber as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a 36-year-old al-Qaida sympathizer from Zarqa, Jordan.
The report said Jordanian intelligence officers arrested al-Balawi more than a year ago. He was thought to have been successfully reformed and persuaded to support U.S. and Jordanian efforts against al-Qaida. Jordan's intelligence agency then recruited al-Balawi and sent him to Afghanistan and Pakistan to infiltrate the terror group.
The CIA declined to comment on the NBC News report.
Following the attack last Wednesday, former U.S. intelligence officers told U.S. media the suicide bomber was wearing an Afghan army uniform and appeared to have been courted as an informant.
The Jordanian intelligence agent killed in the bombing was identified as Sharif Ali bin Zeid. NBC News reported that he was a first cousin of Jordan's King Abdullah.
Jordan's official news agency, Petra, has said that bin Zeid was killed while "performing the sacred duty of Jordanian forces in Afghanistan." NATO says Jordan has a total of seven troops in Afghanistan.
Both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
