No role of Russia in killings of US troops in Afghanistan: Taliban

World

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Saturday refuted the recent reports citing US intelligence assessments alleging that Russian intelligence has solicited killings of American troops by the group in Afghanistan, saying that these rumours are set to create obstacles to US pullout from the country, Sputnik reported.

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

According to Mujahid, all weapons and tools used by the movement were already present in the country or captured from the opposition. The spokesman stressed that the Taliban’s activities are not related to any intelligence organ or foreign country.

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Mujahid stated that the Taliban was committed to the deal with the United States, saying that its implementation would ensure comprehensive peace and stability in Afghanistan.

In February, the US and the Taliban signed a peace deal that concluded after several rounds of talks to launch the reconciliation process in Afghanistan after almost two decades of armed conflict and insurgency.

Last week, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said that intra-Afghan talks were closer than ever after Kabul and the Taliban carried out a significant exchange of prisoners.

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