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| CIA Operative Dies in Prison Riot |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/30/2001 |
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CIA officer Johnny "Mike'' Spann was killed in a prison riot at Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, the CIA said Wednesday, the first American known to be killed in action inside the country since U.S. bombing began. U.S. officials recovered his body Wednesday, several hours after northern alliance rebels backed by U.S. airstrikes and special forces quelled rioting by Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners. The CIA provided no details on the circumstances of Spann's death. CIA Director George J. Tenet addressed agency employees Wednesday morning. He called Spann an American hero and said his fellow officers should 'continue the mission that Mike Spann held'' sacred. 'And so we will continue our battle against evil with renewed strength and spirit,'' Tenet told colleagues, according to a CIA statement. The flag outside CIA headquarters at McLean, Va., flew at half-staff. Spann, 32, of Winfield, Ala., joined the CIA in June 1999 and had served in the Marine Corps. He left behind a widow and three children. The riot at the prison began Sunday when hundreds of Pakistanis, Chechens, Arabs and other non-Afghans, who had fought with the Taliban, were brought to the fortress after the weekend surrender of Kunduz, the Islamic militia's last stronghold in the north. Once inside, the men broke loose, stormed the armory and rose up against their alliance captors. Spann was in the complex where Taliban prisoners were being held and questioned, the CIA said. Hundreds of inmates held out for days, despite U.S. bombing and assault by thousands of alliance fighters. U.S. special forces and other troops, believed to be British, took part in the battle and coordinated airstrikes. |
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