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1 hour, 54 minutes ago
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By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Two contractors working for the CIA (news - web sites) were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan (news - web sites), the agency said Tuesday.
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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.
Both 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 was working for the CIA's Directorate of Operations, which conducts clandestine intelligence-gathering and covert operations.
The CIA statement says the agency consulted with the dead officers' families and decided their names could be released without compromising ongoing operations.
They are the third and fourth CIA operatives that the agency has acknowledged have been killed in the line of duty since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The first, paramilitary officer Johnny Micheal Spann, was killed during an uprising of Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners in northern Afghanistan on Nov. 25, 2001.
The second, Helge Boes, died in a training accident in eastern Afghanistan, on Feb. 5, 2003.
The region Carlson and Mueller were operating in is part of the remote mountainous region along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) is thought to be hiding. It is also a stronghold for al-Qaida, Taliban and other anti-U.S. fighters.
The agency did not provide particulars on Saturday's ambush or the two operatives' mission, but it appeared connected to pitched battles in the same area that were described by Afghan and American military officials.
In one fight, six U.S.-allied Afghan militiamen were wounded in a battle with 25 fighters. American attack jets and helicopters were summoned, and "approximately 18 enemy personnel" were killed, according to a statement from the U.S.-led coalition.
The statement says no coalition personnel were killed, but it is unclear whether that would include operatives working for the CIA.
Mohammed Ali Jalali, governor of Paktika province, said Tuesday that a separate battle Saturday in the same province's Gomal district, about two miles from the Pakistan border, left 10 rebels dead — including four Arabs.
As contractors, Carlson and Mueller were not CIA staff employees. Agency officials declined to detail the nature of their employment.
The CIA has its own unit that can conduct commando-style covert operations, called the Special Operations Group. It appears Carlson and Mueller were functioning in that capacity, but it was unclear how many such contractors the agency has hired.
Carlson was a veteran of Army special operations forces; Mueller had served in the Navy's special operations forces, the CIA said.
