Bin Laden Raid Avenged CIA Deaths, A Secret Until Now

Two agents among 44 U.S. Embassy workers killed in 1988 bomb blast in Kenya

In this Aug. 22, 1998 photo, pallbearers carry the flag-covered casket of Molly Carol Huckaby Hardy down the steps of First Baptist Church in Valdosta, Ga. Hardy, and Uttamlal “Tom” Shah were among the 44 people killed in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Kenya in 1998. Though it has never been publicly acknowledged, they were working undercover for the CIA. (Photo credit: Paul Leavy / AP

By Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo

May 29, 2011

WASHINGTON — For a small cadre of CIA veterans, the death of Osama bin Laden was more than just a national moment of relief and closure. It was also a measure of payback, a settling of a score for a pair of deaths, the details of which have remained a secret for 13 years.

Tom Shah and Molly Huckaby Hardy were among the 44 U.S. Embassy employees killed when a truck bomb exploded outside the embassy compound in Kenya in 1998.

Though it has never been publicly acknowledged, the two were working undercover for the CIA. In al-Qaida’s war on the United States, they are believed to be the first CIA casualties. …

Their CIA ties were described to The Associated Press by a half-dozen current and former U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because Shaw’s and Hardy’s jobs are still secret, even now. …

Bin Laden said the embassy in Nairobi was targeted because it was a major CIA station. He died never knowing that he had killed two CIA officers there.

Full story

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Related reports on this site

Kenya embassy bombing

Osama bin Laden’s Successor Named (May 18, 2011)

Al-Qaida Leadership Roles (May 4, 2011)

Osama bin Laden Dead (May 1, 2011)

New Details in CIA Bombing (Jan. 10, 2010)

CIA Zawahiri Team Decimated (Jan. 4, 2010)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — May 29, 2010

1,000th Troop Killed in Afghanistan

Jonathan Leicht, left, and Jesse Leicht pose with a photo of their brother, Marine Cpl. Jacob Leicht, May 29, 2010 in Kerrville, Texas. (Photo credit: Eric Gay / AP)

One year ago today, I reported that Marine Cpl. Jacob C. Leicht, 24, of College Station, Texas, became the 1,000th U.S. service member killed in Afghanistan when he stepped on an explosive device May 27, 2010 in Helmand province.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — May 29, 2009

Iraq: May Deadliest in 8 Months

Two years ago, on May 29, 2011, I reported that with at least 24 U.S. service members dead, May 2009 was the deadliest month for American forces in Iraq since September 2008, when 25 died.

National Guard Sgt. Paul F. Brooks, 34, Joplin, Mo., died May 21, 2009 near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit was attacked with a car bomb while on dismounted patrol. Brooks, originally from Jonesboro, Ark., was an Army medic assigned to the 935th Aviation Support Battalion, Springfield, Missouri He was on his second tour in Iraq.

In addition to his mother and father, Barbara and Paul David Brooks, Sgt. Brooks is survived by his wife, Nicole, and seven children — Hayley, 14; Harmony, 11; Seth, 7; Logan, 6; Aiden, 5; Samara, 3; and Denver, 2.

According to his sister, Nikki Winn, “He didn’t have to go to Iraq. … He joined full time to help his family. … It meant more money to help support his family.”