Silvio Berlusconi denies Italy bribed the Taliban

Both Silvio Berlusconi and his predecessor Romano Prodi have issued denials following the report in the Times yesterday that 10 French servicemen died in Afghanistan last year because their superiors did not realise the Italians who preceded them had been bribing the Taliban not to attack.

As The First Post reported yesterday, the French underestimated the Taliban threat as a result and suffered a brutal attack on one of their convoys. Insurgents later paraded trophies taken from the dead solders, to the disgust of the French.

A statement from the Italian prime minister's office said the Berlusconi government had never authorised or allowed payments to insurgents, and nor was it aware of "any such initiatives set in motion by the previous government".

Prodi himself told the Times: "This is the first time I have ever heard such accusations and I can say that there is no base for them. I know absolutely nothing of this."

Ignazio La Russa, the Italian defence minister, dismissed the claim as "rubbish" and said he was taking steps to sue the Times.

However, the Times today quotes a Taliban commander, Mohammed Ishmayel, confirming that Italian forces paid protection money. Ishmayel said a deal was struck last year so that Italian forces in the Sarobi valley, east of Kabul, would not be attacked.

Ishmayel told the Times that it was agreed that "neither side should attack one another. That is why we were informed at that time, that we should not attack the Nato troops".

However, he said, the Taliban were not informed when the Italian forces left the area to be replaced by the French and so they assumed the deal had been broken.

The Times also claims to have spoken to Afghan officials who say they were aware of the bribery, not just in the Sarobi valley but elsewhere in areas where Italian forces have operated. This supports the view of defence correspondent Robert Fox who wrote for The First Post yesterday that the Italians have been suspected of bribing the enemy not only in Afghanistan but also in Iraq.

The latest potential scandal for the Italian government comes as the US magazine Newsweek uses the cover of this week's European edition to urge Italy to "dump Berlusconi".

In an article that details the various sex scandals attached to Berlusconi - but written before the Times allegations about Taliban bribery surfaced - the magazine says: "Italy can no longer afford the antics of its playboy-in-chief... He's drunk on power and drunk on himself and if he stays at Italy's wheel, he's likely not only to wreck the country but also to damage Europe and possibly even the North Atlantic alliance." ·