US military commander accuses Russia of arming Taliban

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said that Washington "will confront Russia" after a top US military commander claimed Moscow is "sending weapons" to the Taliban. No specifics or evidence were provided to support the claims which Moscow has previously denied.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Mattis in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday, the head of the US and international forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson said the US "continue to get reports of this [Russia's] assistance" to Taliban insurgents.

The NATO commander, who Mattis praised as "one of our most experienced officers in the field and one of our most serious strategic thinkers," was asked "to address the influx of Russian weapons into Afghanistan and showing up in Taliban hands" by a journalist from the Washington Post.

The general didn't...