NDS agent shooting at range. Public domain, U.S. Government / via Wikimedia Commons
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has confirmed, the suspected National Guard shooter, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, previous worked for a special force unit in Afghanistan that worked under the CIA.
Now new information is coming to light about the Kandahar Strike Force or “Zero Units”, Lakanwal previously served in.
The Kandahar Strike Force also known as “Zero Units” was composed of Afghan nationals under the command of the Afghanistan National Directorate of Security which was an intelligence agency established by the CIA.
The New York Times reported the zero units were trained and equipped directly under the CIA and were trained to conduct clandestine missions across Afghanistan.
Per CBS:
An image of an ID badge circulating widely online Thursday that purportedly shows the suspect in the shooting of the National Guard members says he was assigned to the “Kandahar Strike Force” or “03” unit, one of a number of so-called “Zero Units” that worked closely with U.S. and other foreign forces during the war in Afghanistan.
The badge also carries the words “Firebase Gecko,” which was the name of a base used by the CIA and special forces in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, inside what was previously the compound of the Taliban’s founding leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. CBS News has not independently verified the authenticity of the ID badge shown in the photos, but CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the suspect had previously worked “with the U.S. Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar.”
The “Zero Units” were exclusively composed of Afghan nationals and operated under the umbrella of the National Directorate of Security, or NDS, the intelligence agency established with CIA backing for Afghanistan’s previous, U.S.-backed government.
A former senior Afghan general under that previous government told CBS News on Thursday that “03 unit, also known as The Kandahar Strike Force (KSF), was under special forces directorate of NDS. They were the most active and professional forces, trained and equipped by the CIA. All their operations were conducted under the CIA command.”
BREAKING: The Afghan National Terrorist, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who shot members of the National Guard near The White House, worked with the CIA as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/FUMjsfNXPA
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 27, 2025
The New York Times further confirmed these Zero Units salaries were directly paid by the CIA.
READ:
Afghan National Who Ambushed Two National Guard Members Reportedly Worked with US Government Agencies Including CIA
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