Before D.C. shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal attacked two National Guard members last week, he was part of a CIA-backed unit that killed many Afghans.

from Drop Site News
Dec 01, 2025

Story by Emran Feroz and Abdul Rahman Lakanwal

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was arrested for shooting two National Guard soldiers last week in D.C., was briefly imprisoned in Afghanistan alongside other members of his Zero Unit team, according to five Afghan sources. The detention by local government forces came after Zero Units killed Afghan police forces in Kandahar they were supposed to be defending.

Notwithstanding their arrests, there were no longterm consequences for the Zero Units; the Afghan state had no authority over them and the Americans shielded them. During his few days in prison, which Lakanwal and his comrades had to face after the incident in Kandahar, they still received their pay from the CIA, sources said.

  • wuffah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    20 hours ago

    According to former militia commander Rafeh—who is still living, in hiding, in Afghanistan—the circumstances that shaped Lakanwal were common among resettled militia veterans. “Many former soldiers and militiamen lived for the war and experienced trauma. It’s not compatible with their new lives in Europe or in Northern America. Also, their former NATO allies are abandoning them more and more. Many still don’t have documents while their family members are forced to hide themselves in Afghanistan”, Rafeh said. “If they are also traumatized drug addicts like Lakanwal, they are literal time bombs created through American warfare itself.”