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According to US intelligence officials, a clandestine Russian military unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition troops in Afghanistan last year, specifically targeting American troops

PHOTO CREDITS: CNN

According to US intelligence officials, President Donald Trump and the National Security Council were briefed on intelligence reports that a clandestine Russian military unit had secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition troops in Afghanistan last year, specifically targeting American troops. ~

The United States concluded earlier this year that the Russian unit had covertly offered the same Taliban-linked militia rewards for successful operations last year, with a number of Islamist militants linked to the group reportedly collecting bounty money over the course of last calendar year (USA Today). Although twenty Americans were killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2019, it remains unclear whether any of them are related to these reported bounties. The Trump administration held expanded briefings about the intelligence last week in coordination with the British government, whose forces were reportedly targeted as well, though the American response to the bounty reports also remains unclear (Times). ~

Amid peace talks to end the extensive war in Afghanistan, a Russian-backed Taliban operation to attack American and other NATO forces would be a significant escalation in tensions in the Middle East, as well as furthermore support claims by American and Afghan officials that say that Russia supports the Taliban. The Russian unit believed to be associated with the reports, known as GRU, has been linked to assination attempts and other secret operations in Europe with the intention of “destabilizing the West or taking revenge on turncoats,” the New York Times reported. Russian collaboration with the Taliban that resulted in any deaths of British or American soldiers would also significantly intensify the country’s so called “hybrid war” on the West and specifically the United States – which consists of a set of indirect destabilizing tactics including fake news social media campaigns, indirect military operations, and cyberattacks. ~

President Donald Trump denied on Twitter Sunday that he had been briefed on the intelligence. According to a US official Sunday, it remains unclear how credible the intelligence in question is. ~

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