US intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban militants in Afghanistan to target American troops and other coalition forces, identifying payments linked to at least six attacks carried out last year alone, CNN reported on Monday.
A Pentagon briefing document showed that bounties were paid by a foreign government to the Haqqani network, a militant group that is led by the second highest ranking leader of the Taliban, for their attack on Bagram Air Base on December 11. The attack killed two civilians and injured more than 70 others, including US four US personnel, the report said.
The name of the foreign government that made these payments remains classified but two sources familiar with the intelligence confirmed to CNN that it refers to Iran, the report said.
The US killed top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq less than a month after the Bagram attack but after a lengthy process involving several agencies to develop options aimed at countering Iran’s support for militant groups in Afghanistan. The decision was made in March not to take specific action as officials did not want to jeopardize the peace process with the Taliban, CNN reported.
A current administration official and former senior official with knowledge of the situation told CNN that Iran’s link to the Taliban was cited by US officials as part of the argument for conducting the strike that killed Soleimani in January.
A State Department spokesperson told CNN that Tehran’s “support to some elements of the Taliban has threatened to undermine the peace process in Afghanistan.”
“Iran has tried to use proxy groups to carry out the Iranian regime’s own nefarious agenda, and it would be a mistake for any faction of the Taliban to get entangled in Iran’s dirty work,” they added, noting that the Trump administration “remains committed to addressing the full range of threats Iran poses to the US and regional stability. “
The report comes nearly two months after the New York Times reported that Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill US troops and other coalition forces in Afghanistan. Russia denied the allegations.
