Italy denies paying off Taliban for calm

ROME, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Italian officials denied a British media report that Italy paid Taliban forces not to attack Italian troops stationed in the Sarobi region of Afghanistan.

The Times of London reported that French soldiers took over the region, believing it was calm, only to discover it was volatile. Ten French soldiers died last year, and the French force was criticized by NATO for lacking suitable equipment and preparation.

However, The Times claimed the miscalculation was because the Italian secret service secretly paid local Taliban leaders to keep the violence down, Radio France Internationale reported Thursday.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday in a statement his office "never authorized any kind of money payment to members of the Taliban insurrection in Afghanistan, and has no knowledge of initiatives of this type by the previous government."

The Times report indicated French officials weren't aware of the alleged payments. A senior NATO officer in Kabul told the British newspaper that "it might well make sense to buy off local groups and use non-violence to keep violence down. But it is madness to do so and not inform your allies."

Another NATO source confirmed allegations of Italian money going to insurgents, The Times reported.

"The Italian intelligence service made the payments, it wasn't the Italian army," he said. "It was to stop Italian casualties that would cause political difficulties at home."

NATO sources also said U.S. intelligence found out about the payments through intercepted phone messages, resulting in a diplomatic protest, the newspaper said.