MOSCOW, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin on Monday denied a New York Times report alleging that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

"Once again, we can only express regret that one of the largest, reputable and high-quality world media outlets have been increasingly publishing elaborate hoaxes in recent years," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a daily briefing.

On Friday, the New York Times published a report, saying that according to U.S. intelligence officials, "a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan -- including targeting American troops."

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that "Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or @VP. Possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax."