CIA officer from Bin Laden hunt to investigate ‘Havana syndrome’

‘I am absolutely determined to get to the bottom of the question of what and who caused this’

A CIA officer who helped lead the search for Osama bin Laden will head an investigation into “Havana syndrome”, a mysterious ailment that has affected more than 200 US officials and their families.

America is stepping up efforts to confront the unexplained illness and William Burns, the CIA’S director, has announced that a task force investigating the syndrome will be led by a veteran officer of the near decade-long campaign to find and kill Al-qaeda leader Bin Laden.

The officer, whose identity remains under wraps, has spent more than a decade working on intelligence analysis but now faces a far more mysterious target.

“We’re throwing the very best we have at this issue,” Mr Burns told NPR in an interview on Thursday.

US officials have speculated that Havana syndrome, so named because it was first reported by staff based in the American embassy in Cuba in 2016, may be intentionally caused by foreign actors such as Russia. Moscow has denied any involvement.

The condition’s symptoms include nausea, migraines and dizziness.

Cases have been reported by US officials in China, Russia, Austria and Washington DC and this week American officials said there was a steady flow of new potential cases among staff in overseas posts. They included a recent and previously unreported incident in Berlin that cut short at least one diplomat’s term, according to NBC News.

A report from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine last December suggested a form of microwave radiation was the most plausible explanation for the symptoms.

In his first interview since being appointed CIA chief, Mr Burns said the evidence pointed to the “very strong possibility” that the syndrome was the result of intentional attacks.

He added that there were very few “potential suspects” with the capability to carry them out in so many countries.

The CIA director said he had also tripled the number of full-time medical personnel at the agency who are focused on Havana syndrome.

“I am absolutely determined – and I’ve spent a great deal of time and energy on this in the four months that I’ve been CIA director – to get to the bottom of the question of what and who caused this,” he told NPR.

“It’s a profound obligation I think of any leader to take care of your people and that is what I am determined to do,” he added.