Italy denies paying Taliban to stop attacks

Italy today denied that its secret services bribed the Taliban to stop them killing its soldiers patrolling in Afghanistan.

Premier Silvio Berlusconi's office said the report in the Times was "completely groundless".

The paper reported that Italy had paid "tens of thousands of dollars" to Taliban commanders and warlords in the Surobi district, east of the capital Kabul.

It accused Rome of failing to inform its allies, misleading the French, who took over the Surobi district in mid-2008, into thinking the area was quiet and safe. Shortly afterwards the French contingent was hit with an ambush that killed 10 soldiers and caused political repercussions in Paris.

Nato and French government officials refused to comment on the report.

"The Berlusconi government has never authorised nor has it allowed any form of payment toward members of the Taliban insurgence," a statement by the premier's office said. It says it does not know of any such payment by the previous government.

Mr Berlusconi won elections in April 2008, replacing a centre-left government headed by Romano Prodi.

The statement noted that in the first half of last year the Italian contingent suffered several attacks, including in the Surobi district where one soldier was killed in February 2008.

Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said that in the summer of 2008 "I had been minister for a short time, I've never received news from the secret services of payment to the chiefs of the Taliban".

He said there was a benevolent attitude toward the Italians who serve in Afghanistan due to "the behaviour of our military, which is very different compared to that of other contingents".

"They have always showed they are close to the people and they get the same in return," Mr La Russa said of the Italian soldiers. "To connect all of this with the death of the French soldiers ... seems an absurdity to me."

Italy has about 2,800 soldiers stationed in Herat and in the capital of Kabul.