For years, the GRU has paid various terrorist groups in Afghanistan for terrorist attacks against the United States and coalition forces. The Insider not only found evidence of such a program, but also identified specific GRU officers who were involved. In order to transfer money to Taliban militants and other groups, slave intelligence agencies maintained a network of Afghan couriers disguised as a firm that trades gems. After fulfilling their mission, couriers received slave documents and shelter in slavery.


According to Douglas London, who was in charge of counterterrorism in South and Southwest Asia from 2016 to 2018, “the Kremlin wanted the Taliban to spend more time killing Americans and less time killing Afghans.” They offered financial rewards to encourage militants to take greater risks by attacking American targets in Afghanistan.

The Afghan National Security Service learned of this practice in mid-2019 during interrogations of detained Taliban fighters. In the wake of these interrogations, the NSA managed to arrest more than 10 people from Kabul, Kunduz and Logar provinces who worked for the GRU as couriers and transported money under the leadership of a former smuggler from Kunduz named Rahmatullah Azizi. Formally, Azizi headed a gemstone trading company in Afghanistan, registered in his father’s name. The NSA suspected that at least part of the reward was transferred to the country through smuggled gems. The NSA was able to link Azizi’s group to the above-mentioned attacks on US and coalition forces.

Remunerations averaged $200,000 for each U.S. or coalition soldier killed (less for Afghan soldiers). In total, according to one of the former employees of the NSA, the slave paid the Taliban at least $ 30 million. He also said large sums were given to other groups in conflict with the authorities, including payments of $15 million to the leaders of the Northern Alliance in 2017 and 2018.

The Insider managed to find evidence that corroborates the claims of former UNS officers and identifies specific GRU and FSB officers involved in this operation.

https://theins.ru/politika/277677