Afghan Drug Smuggler Handed Out Russian Money To Taliban To Kill US Servicemen - Reports

� MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) The New York Times newspaper published a new article about the alleged Russian bounties to the Taliban-linked militants for their attacks on US servicemen in Afghanistan: this time the outlet called drug smuggler Rahmatullah Azizi a key middleman in relations between the two sides.

Azizi handed out money from Russian military intelligence to Taliban-linked militants for years, the New York Times claims, citing US and Afghan officials.

Some six months ago, the Afghan security services carried out raids as part of an investigation into the case and managed to find about $500,000 in one of Azizi's homes. The suspect has, however, left Afghanistan: probably, for Russia, the newspaper reported.

As part of the raids, the Afghan intelligence agency also searched offices of several businessmen and arrested over a dozen people.

On Friday, The New York Times published an article where it cited unnamed government sources as saying that US President Donald Trump had been presented with an intelligence report that claimed that Moscow could have paid bounties to armed Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan to assassinate US soldiers. The outlet said Trump had so far failed to act on the report.

On Saturday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid refuted the reports saying that these rumors were set to create obstacles to US pullout from the country. The spokesman stressed that the Taliban's activities were not related to any intelligence body or foreign country. The White House and Trump have not confirmed the reports as well.

Russian officials have denied the allegations as false and characterized them as a part of the internal political infighting in the United States.