7:59pm UK, Thursday December 31, 2009

Jon di Paolo,
Sky News Online

Barack Obama has written to CIA employees after a suicide bomb attack at a military base in Afghanistan killed seven members of the organisation.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, adding it was carried out by a ranking officer in Afghanistan’s army.

A spokesman said the “well-dressed” official was of sufficiently high rank to walk past security at the Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province.

He then apparently gained access to a meeting being held by CIA officials in the complex, where he detonated the explosives he was carrying.

It is understood the base’s chief – a mother-of-three – was killed in the blast.

US officials said six others were wounded, but no US or Nato troops were among them.

“There’s still a lot to be learned about what happened,” CIA spokesman George Little said.

“The key lesson is that counterterrorism work is dangerous.

“Our fallen and wounded colleagues were on the front lines, conducting essential operations to protect our country.”

In his letter, the US President referred to the victims as “brave Americans” who made great sacrifices for their fellow citizens.

He went on to say “we must draw strength from the example of their sacrifice”.

The attack is one of several that have cast doubts on the practicality of Western exit strategies that involve training the Afghan army and police to a point where they can take on the Taliban alone.

In a separate incident, five Canadians – four soldiers and a journalist – were killed when their armoured vehicle was hit by a bomb in southern Kandahar province, the Canadian Defence Ministry said.

The patrol was hit on its way to visit community reconstruction projects about 2.5 miles outside Kandahar.

Mr Obama is sending 30,000 extra troops to tackle the violence in Afghanistan and Nato allies are contributing thousands more.

An Afghan army official said Washington had pledged $16bn (£10bn) to train the army and air force.

The CIA has been expanding its presence in the country, stepping up strikes against Taliban and al Qaeda militants along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Forward Operating Base Chapman, the site of the suicide attack, is near the Pakistan border, in one of the areas of Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgency is strongest.

The agency’s role hunting terrorism suspects in Afghanistan has been criticised by both Afghans and human rights groups.