Italy Denies Report It Paid Off Taliban, Warlords

"Italy's government denied a report on Thursday that it paid off Taliban commanders and Afghan warlords, potentially costing the lives of French troops who later took charge of the area unaware of the payments. Britain's Times newspaper said Italian secret service paid tens of thousand of dollars to insurgents to keep the Sarobi area east of Kabul quiet while Italian forces were stationed there. The report cited unidentified Western military officials. Knowing nothing of the payments and carrying little ammunition in the incorrect belief they were in a benign area, French troops who took over the area in mid-2008 were surprised by an insurgent ambush that killed 10 soldiers, the report said. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office denied the accusations, citing several attacks on Italian troops in the first half of 2008 as proof Italy had not paid off anyone."