Top US intel officials brief Congress on alleged Russia bounties on US forces in Afghanistan

Top US intelligence officials briefed on Thursday briefed US Congress on alleged Russia offered awards to the Taliban militants for attacks on American and coalition forces in Afghanistan.  

CIA Director Gina Haspel and National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone met with members of the key US Congress members to tell them directly about the report.   

The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a number of other Republicans were briefed behind the closed doors.

Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives urged the government to impose sanctions against Russia, while others do not believe in the Trump administration’s tough stance on Russia.

“We expect the President of the United States to give them that same force protection, that same priority, and we are disappointed that has not happened. Whatever else happens of this, we must restore those sanctions, and we must act upon them,” said Pelosi.

Earlier, the Taliban and Russia denied the report, but a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said it had only helped the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “Russia supplied arms only to the legitimate government of Afghanistan, which is a well-known fact. If our US colleagues want to have a conversation in this context, it would be appropriate to recall the information circulating in Afghanistan regarding the US special services’ support for ISIS with the use of helicopters, which we covered extensively at our briefings one to two years ago, and shielding them from Taliban attacks.”

US officials have not yet commented on Russia’s allegations.

But US forces in Afghanistan and Afghan officials have previously denied the allegations, saying they are committed to suppressing ISIS and that the group has been repressed in many parts of Afghanistan and will continue to fight them.