House Intelligence Committee requests CIA documents on secret, now canceled al-Qaida hit teams

House intel lays groundwork for CIA investigation

WASHINGTON — The House Intelligence Committee has asked the CIA to provide the committee with documents about the now-canceled program to target al-Qaida leaders with hit teams.

CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress June 24 that he had canceled the program after learning about the effort to kill al-Qaida leaders.

Intelligence officials said that CIA leaders felt the program never became operational enough to require congressional notification. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.