U.S. intelligence officials have reportedly been investigating an April 2019 attack on an American convoy that killed three U.S. Marines to determine whether it was connected to bounties secretly offered to Taliban militants by the Russian government. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump denied being briefed on the bounties, dismissing reports on intelligence assessments that Russia offered money to Taliban fighters as “Fake News.” The claim that bounties were offered to Taliban militants was first reported by The New York Times. Now the Associated Press reports that the intelligence community is specifically looking at a deadly 2019 attack in relation to the bounties. A U.S. convoy was targeted traveling back to Bagram Airfield, killing three Marines, back in April 2019. Officials are reportedly also looking at other unspecified incidents from 2019 to determine if they are also linked to Russian bounties. The Trump administration is reportedly set to brief select members of Congress on the matter later on Monday.
