A Russian military unit offered rewards to Taliban-linked militants to kill NATO troops in Afghanistan that include American forces, The New York Times reported.
Citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials the Times says the American intelligence apparatus has known for months about the alleged efforts of the Russian military intelligence unit.
The unit reportedly provided rewards to militants for successful attacks last year as the Trump administration engaged in peace talks to end the nearly two-decade long war.
U.S. troops were among the targeted coalition forces, the Times reported, while also revealing that some militants or associated entities are believed to have received reward money.
The report says 20 Americans died last year in combat in Afghanistan. However, it is unclear how many — or which specific cases — are linked to the killing bounties.
The Washington-datelined news story says President Donald Trump and other intelligence officials on the National Security Council reportedly discussed the matter in a meeting in late March, where they weighed a series of potential responses. However, no formal steps have been made, the Times reported.
The newspaper’s sources said they were unclear why there has been a delay. The motivations of the Russian intelligence unit’s alleged efforts are also unclear, the report said.
Russia, meanwhile, has denounced the newspaper report as “baseless” and dangerous.
The “baseless and anonymous accusations,” published by the newspaper, had “already led to direct threats to the life of employees of the Russian Embassies in Washington DC and London,” the Russian Embassy in Washington wrote on Twitter.
“Stop producing #fakenews that provoke life threats, @nytimes,” it added in a later tweet.
