2 Americans Working for CIA Killed in Afghanistan
Two contract workers for the CIA have been killed in an ambush in Afghanistan, the agency said Tuesday.
William Carlson, 43, of Southern Pines, N.C., and Christopher Glenn Mueller, 32, of San Diego were “tracking terrorists operating in the region” of Shkin, a village in eastern Afghanistan, when they were killed Saturday, the CIA said in a statement.
The U.S. military said American and Afghan soldiers killed about 18 suspected guerrillas Saturday during fighting in the region.
Carlson and Mueller were veterans of military special operations forces, the CIA said.
“William Carlson and Christopher Mueller were defined by dedication and courage,” CIA Director George J. Tenet said in a statement.
“Their sacrifice for the peoples of the United States and Afghanistan must never be forgotten.”
The pair were working for the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, which conducts clandestine intelligence-gathering and covert operations.
The area Carlson and Mueller were operating in is part of the remote mountainous region along the border with Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding. It is also a stronghold for Al Qaeda, Taliban and other anti-U.S. fighters.
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