Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001
CIA Officer Killed in Afghan Prison Revolt
An officer of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was killed in a prison revolt near Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, the U.S. spy agency said Wednesday.
An officer of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was killed in a prison revolt near Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, the U.S. spy agency said Wednesday.
The officer, identified as Mike Spann, was the first American officially recognized as being killed in combat situation within Afghanistan.
Spann's body was recovered shortly after Northern Alliance forces, backed by U.S. and British special forces, quelled a revolt by hundreds of surrendering foreign Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners. The CIA did not provide any details on how the 32-year- old spy was killed.
Earlier reports had said that one U.S. personnel was killed in a shootout during the revolt which took place on Sunday. But the Bush administration had denied the reports, insisting that all U.S. personnel had been accounted for.
The administration later disclosed that five U.S. military personnel were injured by a stray U.S. bomb dropped by U.S. warplanes which intended to provide air support to the Northern Alliance troops to crush the riots.
Apart from Spann, another three U.S. military personnel have been killed outside Afghanistan in accidents related to the military strikes which began on October 7.