Petraeus probe snares US Afghanistan war chief

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The probe into ex-CIA director David Petraeus's extramarital affair has snared the top US general in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday, as the widening scandal rippled through Washington.

US lawmakers, who were shocked by Petraeus's sudden resignation over the affair just three days after President Barack Obama's re-election, will launch their own investigation Tuesday amid a torrent of leaked accusations.

In the latest in a cascade of revelations, a defense official said the FBI probe into the affair had uncovered 20,000 to 30,000 pages of correspondence -- mainly emails -- between General John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan, and the woman who led the FBI to Petraeus's former mistress.

The official said the correspondence included 'inappropriate' emails between Allen and Jill Kelley, 37, a Florida socialite who notified the FBI when she began receiving threatening emails from Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell.

According to widely-reported leaks from US officials, FBI agents traced the mails back to Broadwell and, on scrutinizing her online records, found a series of sexually explicit exchanges with Petraeus confirming their affair.

The two were interviewed separately by investigators in late October and early November but, despite reports Broadwell was found to be in possession of some classified material, no criminal charges were brought.

Petraeus had been due to testify to Congress this week on the September 11 assault in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans, including US ambassador Chris Stevens and two former Navy SEALs working for the CIA.

The attack, which reportedly targeted the US consulate and a secret CIA-run annex, raised questions about whether staff were adequately protected as they operated in the chaotic aftermath of last year's Arab Spring uprising.

Now US legislators also want to know why the FBI and the Justice Department did not notify them or the White House sooner about the Petraeus investigation.

Petraeus took command of the CIA 14 months ago, retiring from the military after a glittering career that saw him lead the 101st Airborne, the US war in Iraq, its CentCom regional command and international forces in Afghanistan.

The retired four-star general, who presided over the 2007 troop "surge" in Iraq, is widely credited with turning the tide of the US war there, though similar efforts have been less successful in Afghanistan.