“It has been clear for some time that Russia does not wish us the best in Afghanistan,” they said in a joint statement. “We believe it is important to vigorously seek any information related to Russia or any other country directed at our forces.”
Other Republicans who attended the briefing were more optimistic. In an interview, Representative Chris Stewart of Utah said he saw nothing unusual in the alleged decision not to orally inform Trump, particularly when the situation did not require the President to take immediate action.
“It just didn’t reach the credibility level to get the president’s attention,” he said, adding that the military and intelligence agencies should continue to analyze Russia’s activities.
The Associated Press first reported that the intelligence community was examining the deaths of the three Navy reservists: Sgt. Christopher Slutman, 43, of Newark, Del.; Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, NY; and the sergeant. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, of York, Pa.
They were killed near Bagram Air Base when an explosives-laden vehicle hit their truck and also injured an Afghan contractor. The huge explosion set the truck on fire, engulfing those on fire, while his fellow Marines attempted to free them, a defense official said. There was a brief shooting.
General Zaman Mamozai, a former police chief in Parwan province, where the Bagram airfield is located, said the Taliban hire independent workers from local criminal networks, often blurring the lines of who carried out the attacks. He said the Taliban commanders were based only in two districts of the province, Seyagird and Shinwari, and from there they coordinate a larger network that largely mandates the services of criminals.
The Taliban have denied their participation. And a spokesman for Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin, Dmitry Peskov, told NBC News on Monday that the reports on the Russian scheme were incorrect. He said “none of the US representatives have raised this question” with their Russian counterparts through government or diplomatic channels.
