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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Have US authorities found conclusive evidence to back up reports about alleged bounties on US troops in Afghanistan?

By Gus Fisher
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NO

The Pentagon has “low to moderate confidence” in allegations that the Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, according to an April 2021 White House briefing.

The New York Times first reported the story in June 2020. The allegations received widespread attention from other media. The Trump White House said they were unverified and lacked “consensus” within the intelligence community.

President Biden’s White House is still not confident in these claims, as they are based on interrogations of Afghan detainees in “the challenging operating environment in Afghanistan.” Speculation about the bounties reached a high point last year, after reports that the U.S. Navy recovered $500,000 from a raided Taliban outpost, leading the Pentagon to believe that the money was supplied by the Russian military to kill U.S. troops.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
White House Biden administration background press call on Russia: ‘low to moderate confidence’ in reports
AP News White House denies Trump briefed about US troop bounties
AP News Intel on Russian ‘bounties’ on US troops shaky
AP News AP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.