David Petraeus quits CIA role in wake of affair

DAVID Petraeus has resigned as the director of US intelligence agency the CIA after admitting he had an extra-marital affair.

According to his letter of resignation, Mr Petraeus asked US President Barack Obama to allow him to resign on Thursday, with the president accepting last night.

Mr Petraeus said in a statement that he had shown “extremely poor judgment” in having an affair.

He has been married for 37 years to Holly Petraeus, whom he met when he was a cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York state.

The retired four-star general led the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, before taking the helm of the Central Intelligence Agency in September 2011.

Mr Obama confirmed he had accepted the resignation, and said he expected the CIA to continue to thrive.