US Intelligence: Iran Paid Bounties To Taliban To Target US TroopsUS intelligence indicates Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American troops in Afghanistan, payments linked to at least six attacks https://t.co/JS0PcrJy17— CNN (@CNN) August 17, 2020
Zachary Cohen, CNN, August 17, 2020
US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, identifying payments linked to at least six attacks carried out by the militant group just last year alone, including a suicide bombing at a US air base in December, CNN has learned.
"Bounties" were paid by a foreign government, identified to CNN as Iran, to the Haqqani network – a terrorist group that is led by the second highest ranking leader of the Taliban – for their attack on Bagram Air Base on December 11, which killed two civilians and injured more than 70 others, including four US personnel, according to a Pentagon briefing document reviewed by CNN.
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 US killed a key Iranian general 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, according to multiple sources familiar.
The revelation that Iran might have paid the Taliban follows the controversy over Russian bounties for attacks on American troops, an issue that has been consistently downplayed by the Trump administration ...
The attack at Bagram, which is regarded as the most prominent US military installation in Afghanistan, was highly sophisticated and rattled officials working on Afghanistan matters because it highlighted vulnerabilities of some of the American compounds, according to one source involved in the Taliban peace efforts. ...
"Based on the nature of the attack and agreed upon bounties," the December attack likely met the criteria for reimbursement, the Pentagon briefing document, which was provided to the Secretary of Defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff just days after the incident occurred, states.
While US intelligence officials acknowledge that the Haqqani Network would not necessarily require payment in exchange for targeting American troops, the internal Pentagon document reviewed by CNN notes that the funding linked to the December 11 attack at Bagram "probably incentivizes future high-profile attacks on US and Coalition forces." ...
But despite acknowledging that the relationship "poses a significant threat to US interests," National Security Council officials ultimately recommended in late March that the administration should not take specific steps toward addressing the underlying Iran-Haqqani Network nexus as officials concluded that any response would likely have a negative impact on the peace efforts ...
[T]he issue of foreign governments encouraging the Taliban to resume attacking US and coalition forces in Afghanistan remains a topic of concern for national security officials, according to a joint intelligence assessment produced by the CIA, NSA and NCTC just last month. The assessment notes that Iran reimbursed the Haqqani Network after it conducted at least six attacks against US and Coalition interests in 2019. ...
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