Pentagon document reveals Iran paid Taliban bounties to target US troops 

United States intelligence agencies found that Iran paid Taliban fighters bounties to kill American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, CNN reported Monday afternoon. 

According to CNN a Pentagon briefing document, reviewed by news organization, stated bounties were paid by a foreign government to Haqqani network, which is led by the second highest-ranking Taliban leader.

The bounties were paid for the December attack on Bagram Air Base, which killed two civilians and injured more than 70 others, including four US personnel. 

CNN stated the foreign government was not named, but sources familiar with the intelligence confirmed that the information referred to Iran. 

According to the news organization, the US killed a key Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq less than a month after the Bagram attack but after weighing options a decision was taken not to further counter Iran’s support for militant groups so as not to jeopardize the peace process with the Taliban. 

This comes after reports emerged in June of Russia offering the Taliban bounties to do the same. 

However, Russia has consistently rejected the claims. 

CNN noted that the Bagram attack had been well-coordinated and sophisticated and that according to documents seen by the news outlet, the nature of the attack most likely “met the criteria for reimbursement.”

CNN stated that “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’.”

The news outlet also stated that US officials from a number of different agencies had been tasked in the months following the Bagram attack to investigate Iran’s relationship with Haqqani. 

CNN stated that despite acknowledging that the relationship “poses a significant threat to US interests,” National Security Council officials eventually recommended in late March that the US should not take specific steps toward addressing the Iran-Haqqani link as officials concluded that any response would likely have a negative impact on the peace efforts.

Although the White House failed to take any action against Iran, CNN stated that President Donald Trump has taken a “strong stance toward Tehran for its dealings with the Taliban.”

But, the news organization stated that the issue of foreign governments paying bounties to the Taliban to attack US and coalition forces in Afghanistan remains a serious concern for officials. 

They stated that a joint intelligence assessment produced by the CIA, NSA and NCTC last month noted that Iran paid Haqqani after it conducted at least six attacks against US and coalition interests last year.

The Iranian government did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.