Italy and NATO Deny Paying Off Taliban

The Times said that Italy paid off the Taliban to keep the peace in parts of Afghanistan patrolled by Italian troops. In mid-2008, French troops took over the Surobi regions after Italy. Shortly after, ten French soldiers were killed, while no attack was reported when Italy was in control. The Times reported that Italy had paid "tens of thousands of dollars" to Taliban commanders in the Surobi district and came to an agreement that they do not attack each other. The newspaper cited Western military officials, including high-ranking officers at NATO, speaking on condition of anonymity. However, the NATO spokesperson and Italy's Premier seriously deny the statement of the Times by saying the report was "groundless". Until now, the "truth" from the report isn't admitted by any involved country and continues to bring down the reputation of NATO (and other countries).