MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2020) US intelligence agencies have said that Iranian authorities paid bounties to Taliban militants for killing US and coalition troops in Afghanistan, CNN reported, citing a document from the Pentagon.
According to the document, bounties were paid to the Haqqani network that is led by the second highest ranking leader of the Taliban. The intelligence notes at least six attacks linked to such payments, including the attack on Bagram air base on December 11, 2019, that resulted in the killing of two civilians and more than 70 people injured, including four US personnel.
The document does not name the country that sponsored such attacks, but two informed sources confirmed to the broadcaster that it refers to Iran.
US media previously reported about similar accusations against Russia.
The New York Times reported in June that US intelligence had informed President Donald Trump in a February daily briefing about a suspected effort by Russia to place bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Trump previously called the article a hoax, while White House officials and senior US military leaders publicly said that the intelligence was not convincing. Russia denied the claim as another fake story that was part of the political infighting in the US.
