CIA 'inadvertently' left explosive material on school bus
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has admitted to “inadvertently” leaving explosive material on a school bus after a training exercise in Virginia last month, the agency and the county sheriff's office say.
According to a statement released on Thursday, the CIA put the material in the bus as part of a regular joint exercise to train explosives-sniffing dogs at a Loudoun County high school, Northern Virginia, from March 21 to 24, and with the material still there, the bus was used to shuttle elementary and high school students to and from school for two days.
"As part [of] the training exercise last week, canine explosive detection training was conducted in areas inside and outside of the high school. During the outside portion of the training, the training material was hidden inside an engine compartment of the bus. At some point, a portion of the material appears to have been dislodged from the container and fell into the engine compartment of the bus and was not recovered following the training," the statement said.
The explosive material remained apparently undetected until the bus underwent routine maintenance performed by the school district on March 30.
The Loudoun schools spokesman said it was "a 'putty-type' material designed for use on the battlefield and which requires a special detonator; such putty, or plastic, explosives — including the well-known C-4 — are used in demolition."
“We’re all very upset by what happened, but we're going to review everything that did happen," the spokesman noted. “Obviously we're concerned. The CIA really expressed its deep concern and regret today, and it was sincere."
In response to the incident, the CIA announced that the training program has been suspended until inventory control and procedural standards undergo review.
Agency officials said other buses "that were used or were near the training exercise" have been searched as well and the CIA had recovered all the training explosives used in Loudoun County.
UN experts condemn US blockade of Venezuela
US boat strike kills another person in eastern Pacific
US intercepts another tanker off Venezuela as Washington escalates pressure campaign against Caracas
Iran’s enemies seeking to make up for military losses with economic warfare: FM
Index shows global disapproval of Israel due to Gaza genocide
VIDEO | Libyan military chief killed as plane crashes near Ankara
Araghchi: Iran’s foreign ministry supports export of technology products
Israeli attacks kill 3 in Lebanon amid ongoing ceasefire violations
VIDEO | US tariffs on India impacted Kashmir Christmas crafts
VIDEO | India's bulldozer victims live on ruins of their homes awaiting justice
VIDEO | Gaza hospitals plead for aid as medicine, supplies run critically low
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
