Report: U.S. spies, commandos warned of suspected Russian bounties in January
After finding a large amount of American cash during a raid on a Taliban outpost, U.S. intelligence officers and Special Operations forces in Afghanistan told their superiors as early as January that they suspected Russia was paying bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition troops, The New York Times reported late Sunday. The money got "everybody's attention," one official told the Times, and was a key piece of evidence in determining the Russian plot. U.S. officials believe several American troops were killed for Russian bounties, The Washington Post reported. In its initial report on the Russian plot, the Times said the Trump administration had been discussing it since at least March. Trump tweeted Sunday morning that "nobody briefed me or told me" about the "so-called attacks on our troops."
