AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A video aired Saturday shows a suicide bomber who blew up a CIA base in Afghanistan saying the act was to avenge the killing of a Taliban leader.
U.S. authorities say Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, a Jordanian man, killed seven CIA operatives Dec. 30 when he detonated a bomb inside a facility in Khost, where the double-agent had been taken in hopes he would lead the CIA to top members of the al-Qaida terror network.
A video aired by Al Jazeera satellite television showed Balawi saying his planned attack was in revenge for the 2009 killing of the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
"This is a message to the enemies of the Umma (nation), to the Jordanian intelligence and the CIA," Balawi says, adding, "We say that we will never forget the blood of our Emir Baitullah Mehsud, God's mercy on him. To retaliate for his death in the United States and outside the United States will remain an obligation on all emigrants who were harbored by Baitullah Mehsud."
A Pakistani report identified a man seen seated next to Balawi in the video as new Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
