U.S. intelligence reportedly indicates Iran’s government offered bounties to Taliban fighters to target U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
A Pentagon briefing document said a foreign government paid the Haqqani network, led by a top Taliban leader, to attack Bagram Air Base last December, CNN reported. While the government in question is classified in the memo, two sources familiar with the intelligence told the network it was in reference to Iran.
Four U.S. personnel and more than 75 others were injured in the Bagram attack, which occurred less than a month before the U.S. killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, in a drone strike in Baghdad. Both a current administration official and a former senior official told CNN Iran-Taliban ties were cited as part of the justification for the strike against Soleimani.
Read more at The Hill.
{Matzav.com}
