January 8th, 2010
10:24 AM ET

CIA suicide attacker's wife 'shocked' but proud

Amman, Jordan - The wife of an alleged suicide bomber who killed eight people at a U.S. base in Afghanistan last week says she is shocked by his actions but "proud" of what he did. Defne Bayrak, the Turkish wife of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi - a Jordanian doctor identified as the attacker - said she doubted accusations her husband had been an intelligence agent, but was satisfied he did not die in vain.

"I am proud of my husband. My husband accomplished a very big operation in such a war," she told reporters. "If he is a martyr, may God accept his martyrdom."

Al-Balawi has been named as the suspected bomber behind a December 30 attack on a U.S. base in Khost, in southeastern Afghanistan, that killed killed seven CIA officers and contractors, and a Jordanian army captain.

Bayrak, speaking from their home in Istanbul, told CNN Turk television she was "shocked" to hear what he had done. "It is impossible for me to make a guess if he was an agent, what was his reason going there," she said. "I am not saying whether I am believing or not believing. I am trying to say, we were not expecting something like this."

Read more about the reaction from the suspect's father, mother and brother


Filed under: CIA bombing deaths
January 8th, 2010
09:58 AM ET

Large stash of opium, heroin seized

Kabul, Afghanistan - Troops with the NATO-led force in Afghanistan have seized more than 6,000 pounds of illegal drugs, the force said. Troops found more than 5,300 pounds of processed opium, more than 1,000 pounds of wet opium paste, approximately 50 pounds of heroin, and multiple firearms with ammunition were found in the truck, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said. FULL POST


Filed under: Life and Culture