Taliban deny receiving any bounties from Russia for killing Americans

Jerusalem Post:
The Afghan Taliban denies receiving any bounties from Russia for killings American servicemen in Afghanistan, despite the recent reports to that effect.

Suhail Shaheen, the Doha-based Afghan Taliban political spokesperson, told The Media Line in an exclusive interview: “We are not someone’s mercenaries, nor could we imagine or even think of such type of acts. We are fighting to establish an Islamic government in Afghanistan.

“Such fake news is circulated to malign our credibility and to create chaos at a time when the US troops are leaving Afghanistan and a peace process is on its way,” he added.

“They [the media] want to spoil the peace and stability process in Afghanistan,” Shaheen said.

The Taliban’s chief spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid told The Media Line, “Our 19-year war against the US-led forces is not indebted to any foreign support. We have fought this war ourselves to protect our independence and sovereignty.

“Our fight was not a proxy war. Nor were we fighting for the Eastern or the Western bloc; we fought against the aggression and invasion of a single superpower,” he said. “We made history and the whole world knows that it was a struggle for independence, neutrality and self-determination.

“Some Western media outlets are misattributing our achievements and attempting to assist anti-peace elements in Afghanistan,” Mujahid continued. “Media outlets are trying to divert world attention from their master’s failure in Afghanistan by releasing fake news about taking Russians’ bounties.
...
As I have noted before the claim never made much sense.  US casualties in Afghanistan have been remarkably light.  In the first three months of 2020, there were 9 fatalities and at least two of those were treachery attacks by troops from the Afghan army.  That does not suggest a successful bounty program in a war zone.  Nor have the Taliban needed any incentive to kill American troops.  They have been doing ever since the invasion that followed 9-11.  The years where the casualties were the highest were during the Obama-Biden administration when there were several hundred.

BTW, the Russians have also denied the allegations.  Apparently, only the Democrats and a few deep staters believe the intel.

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