CIA asked Blackwater to kill A Q Khan, claims agency's founder

Lahore, Dec.12 (ANI): In a stunning revelation, US private security service agency, Blackwater's founder, Erik Prince, has claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had asked the agency to kill Pakistani nuclear scientist, Dr. A Q Khan.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Prince said the CIA had asked the Blackwater to eliminate Dr. Khan, however, authorities in Washington "chose not to pull the trigger."

"Dr Khan's inclusion in the target list would suggest that the assassination effort was broader than has previously been acknowledged," Prince said.

According to The New York Times, Prince has also admitted Blackwater's participation in some of the CIA's most sensitive operations, including raids on suspected militants in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Prince said Blackwater's, which now known as Xe Worldwide Services, role changed remarkably after its officials started providing security cover to CIA operatives in the field.

Raids on suspected insurgents in Iraq, known as 'snatch and grab' operations, were mostly carried out during nights between 2004 and 2006.

The newspaper quoted several former Blackwater guards as saying that operations to capture and kill militants in Iraq and Afghanistan became so routine, that Blackwater personnel sometimes became partners in the missions rather than simply providing the security for the CIA officials.

However, the current management of the Xe Services has denied any association with the CIA in its secret operations.

"Blackwater was never under contract to participate in covert raids with CIA or Special Forces troops in Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere else. Any allegation to the contrary by any news organisation would be false," said Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Xe Services. (ANI)