Mother of Army specialist killed in Afghanistan says Russian bounty reports must be investigated

Shawn Gregoire's son, Army Spc. Isaiah Nance, was killed nearly a year ago in Afghanistan, and now she has more questions than ever about his death.

Over the weekend, Gregoire read a New York Times report on U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia paid Taliban-linked militants bounties to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. On Monday, The Associated Press reported that former National Security Adviser John Bolton told colleagues he verbally briefed President Trump about the plot in March 2019.

On July 29, 2019, Nance, 24, and another service member were killed by an Afghan soldier being trained by the U.S. military. Gregoire, a Chicago resident, told NBC 5 that in light of the reports, her son's death needs to be investigated. "I would like for someone to be held accountable for this," she said. "Considering that my son Isaiah was killed during an insider attack and it's almost been a year later and I don't have any reports on the final findings, I can't help but wonder if his death was caused by this."

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Trump has claimed he was never briefed on the matter, tweeting that it was "possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax." Gregoire told NBC 5 "everything can't be a hoax," and "somebody needs to look into it." Her son was "generous and upbeat," she said, and "the mom in me aches for everyone who suffered last year, and even before that and after that. There definitely needs to be some action taken for this. I mean, to put bounties on U.S. soldiers' heads? Something needs to be done."