Terror leader praises attack on CIA base

A top terror leader praised the suicide attack on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan today and said it was to avenge the deaths of a Pakistani Taliban leader and two al-Qaida figures.

The claim, made in a message signed by al-Qaida's number three, Sheikh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, on jihadist internet forums, adds further confusion to which group orchestrated the bombing that killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer and wounded six.

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman had previously identified the bomber and claimed responsibility.

Terrorist watchdog groups are disagreeing over the intent of the new message - whether it was a claim of responsibility or just praising the bomber.

The bomber, a Jordanian doctor identified as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, was apparently a double agent who had been invited inside the CIA outpost bearing a promise of information about al-Qaida's second in command, presumed to be hiding in Pakistan.

Al-Yazid said the attack avenged the death of Baitullah Mehsud, Abu Saleh al-Somali and Abdullah Saeed al-Liby.

A US counter-terrorism official has said al-Somali was a senior al-Qaida operations planner who was killed in an American missile strike last month in western Pakistan. Mehsud was a Pakistani Taliban leader killed on August 5 in a CIA missile strike in north-west Pakistan.

Al-Somali was responsible for the terror group's operations outside the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, reaching into activities in Africa, according to US intelligence, and was suspected of being involved in plotting attacks against the US and Europe, the official said.

The official said al-Somali was part of al-Qaida's senior leadership circle and had connections to other Pakistan-based extremists. His role was to take guidance from senior leaders and develop plans for prospective terrorist attacks.

The identity of the third man mentioned in the message could not be immediately determined.