Bounties offered by Russia to Taliban-linked militants in exchange for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan are reportedly believed to have resulted in the deaths of some American service members.
People with knowledge on the matter told the Washington Post in a report published Sunday that assessments of intelligence obtained from military interrogations of captured militants indicated that the program has cost the lives of several U.S. troops. It was not clear exactly how many have been killed or targeted through the program, the existence of which both Russia and the Taliban have denied.
“The veracity of the underlying allegations continue to be evaluated,” a National Security Council spokesperson told the Washington Post when asked for comment.
The New York Times reported last week that President Trump was briefed on the bounty program in March and given a range of possible responses that the administration has yet to authorize, but the president and his White House have denied he was informed. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not appear to buy Trump’s denial, Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney demanded answers from the White House on Sunday about why Trump wasn’t briefed.
Ten U.S. service members were killed by hostile fire or improvised bombs in Afghanistan in 2018, with 16 following last year and two this year. Of those, several were killed by Afghan security forces, who are thought to sometimes be infiltrated by the Taliban, in “green on blue” hostile incidents.
The United States and the Taliban struck a peace agreement in February, and the Taliban has not attacked any U.S. positions since then.
