Is The Afghan Taliban Funded by Russia?

The Afghan Taliban has rejected a New York Times report claiming that Russian intelligence agencies were rewarding Taliban fighters for killing US troops.

According to AFP, the New York Times reported on Friday that as soon as President Donald Trump began his efforts to withdraw from Afghanistan and end America's longest-running war, Russia's intelligence service A notorious branch of the Taliban has offered rewards to Taliban fighters for inciting them to target US forces.

According to a statement issued by the Taliban in Kabul, "the 19-year jihad of the Islamic Emirate is not due to any branch of any intelligence agency or any country."

Taliban denied US allegations.

The Taliban denied US allegations that Russia provided them with weapons. Rather, "the Islamic Emirate has used weapons and other items that were already present in Afghanistan or were seized in frequent battles with the opposition."

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied to the New York Times that the group has "any such relations with any intelligence agency" and called the report an attempt to defame the armed group.

The Taliban has said that improvised explosive devices have been used against US troops.

The Afghan Taliban has reiterated that it is committed to an agreement reached with Washington in February that will pave the way for the withdrawal of US troops by mid-next year.

The New York Times report

The New York Times report says that US intelligence officials concluded several months ago that the Russian unit had last year secretly offered rewards to the fighters in return for successful attacks. The information was later independently reported by the Washington Post.

The officials said the Taliban-linked fighters, or elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected at least some reward money from the Russians, although it remains unclear what attacks were connected to the scheme, according to the report.

Russia has condemned the New York Times report.

The Russian embassy in Washington says the baseless allegations pose a direct threat to the lives of Russian embassy staff in Washington and London.

The Russian embassy wrote to the hashtag Fake News and the New York Times to stop giving fake news that endangers lives.