The Afghan immigrant suspected of carrying out the terror ambush on two National Guard troops in Washington DC was once part of a CIA-backed paramilitary strike force with a reputation for ruthlessness.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was a member of the so-called “Zero Units” — one of Afghanistan’s elite counterterrorism arms.
His unit — NDS-03 — was operated by the CIA and had direct US intelligence and military support.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was a member of the so-called “Zero Units” — one of Afghanistan’s elite counterterrorism arms. FBIThe paramilitary units, which were manned by Afghans, were trained to carry out night raids and covert missions in Afghanistan.
Members also served in front-line fighting with CIA paramilitary officers.
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Afghan Army Special forces attend a graduation ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2021. APLakanwal’s exact role in the unit wasn’t immediately clear.
One of his cousins told the Associated Press that he started out working as a security guard for the unit back in 2012. He was then later promoted to team leader and a GPS specialist.
Lakanwal’s unit was operated by the CIA and had direct US intelligence and military support. Elizabeth Gomes via StoryfulSome of the clandestine Afghan units have been blamed in the past for brutality and abuses inflicted throughout the war, according to Human Rights Watch.
The human rights group found in a 2019 report that the units were responsible for “extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances” and airstrikes on medical facilities.
“They are illustrative of a larger pattern of serious laws-of-war violations — some amounting to war crimes — that extends to all provinces in Afghanistan where these paramilitary forces operate with impunity,” the group said.
In one instance, the group alleged the Afghan units raided a home in late 2018 and assassinated five members of one family.
Just months later, members of a strike force killed six civilians in a night raid – including a 60-year-old tribal elder and provincial peace council member who was shot in the eye.
The CIA, for its part, has long denied claims of barbaric brutality among the units overseen by the agency.
Separately, the units also played a role in the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The members were among those providing security around Kabul International Airport as Americans and some Afghans evacuated.
