US intelligence concluded months ago that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan, including US troops, amid peace talks, according to a New York Times report published Friday.
US intelligence concluded months ago that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan, including US troops, amid peace talks, according to a New York Times report published Friday.
Citing officials briefed on the matter, the Times reported that President Donald Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings and that the White House’s National Security Council held a meeting about it in late March.
CNN has reached out to the NSC, the Defense Department, the State Department, and the CIA, and has received no comment.
According to the Times, the Trump administration held expanded briefings about the intelligence assessment this week and shared information about it with the British government, whose forces were also believed to have been targeted.
The newspaper reported that officials thought of possible responses, including beginning with a diplomatic complaint to Moscow, a demand to cease, and sanctions — but the White House has yet to authorize any action.
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The Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, on Friday denounced the Times report as “baseless allegations” that have led to death threats against Russian diplomats in Washington and London.
“In the absence of reasons to #BlameRussians,” the Times is inventing “new fake stories,” the embassy wrote on Twitter.
