The New York Times has published a report claiming a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The Washington Post reports the bounties are believed to have resulted in the deaths of several U.S. servicemembers. The reports in the Times and the Post are based entirely on unnamed sources. Russia and the Taliban have denied the allegation. President Trump says he was never briefed on the claim because U.S. intelligence agencies “did not find this info credible.” A spokesperson for the National Security Council said that “the veracity of the underlying allegations continue to be evaluated.” The reports come as peace talks are about to begin between the Taliban and the Afghan government.