Artifact Details
Using steel recovered from the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 attacks, a member of the New York/New Jersey Port Authority Police Department crafted this sculpture of seven stars. There is one star representing each of the seven CIA officers who died in the line of duty during a suicide bombing in Khowst, Afghanistan on 30 December 2009. The Port Authority presented the memorial stars to CIA “in remembrance of all those who lost their lives and for those who were wounded while making the world a safer place to live.”
The Khowst tragedy is second only to the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, for the loss of CIA officers. In addition to the loss of Agency officers at Khowst, including the bomber’s handler, seven other people were injured.
The bombing took place at a small, heavily fortified base near the town of Khowst on Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan. The suicide bomber was a double agent loyal to Islamist extremists, and he had been providing detailed information to CIA about Taliban and al-Qa‘ida operations in the area. As an asset, he came to the base for a scheduled meeting. Upon arrival, he detonated explosives hidden on his body.
Additional Photos
