CIA fires officer over classified leak to media

WASHINGTON, Apr21 (Reuters) The CIA todat said on Friday that it has fired an intelligence officer who leaking classified information about the spy agency's The CIA, which declined to identify the officer or describe the officer's duties at the agency, said the dismissal was the result of a three-month-old investigation of CIA operations that had been the subject of recent media leaks.

''This CIA officer acknowledged having unauthorized discussions with the media in which the officer knowingly shared classified intelligence, including operational information,'' CIA spokeswoman Michele Neff said.

The spy agency would not describe the information disclosed to the media or say which media outlet was involved.

The CIA was rocked in November by a Washington Post article that said it was operating secret prisons for terrorism suspects in Eastern Europe.

The report sparked outrage across Europe and spawned a number of investigations that have yet to produce definitive evidence that the secret prisons existed.

Reuters PG VP0200