Rahmanullah Laknawal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA-backed “Kandahar Strike Force” until August 2021, opened fire on two U.S. National Guard members on Wednesday, just a few blocks from the White House.
According to information released about him, Laknawal served in a special military unit in Kandahar that operated directly under CIA supervision and carried out counter-Taliban missions. This elite unit, known within Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) as the “Zero Units,” was responsible for conducting special operations, including night raids against the Taliban. These units operated in various provinces—including Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Paktika, and areas controlled by the Haqqani network—and played a prominent role in suppressing the Taliban insurgency.
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| Rahmanullah Laknawal |
Because of their direct collaboration with the CIA, all members of these units were evacuated by U.S. military aircraft during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. They were first flown to Qatar, the UAE, and Germany, and later resettled in the United States. Laknawal was transferred on 8 September 2021 under the “Welcome Allies” program and eventually resettled in Washington. A copy of his identity card from his time in the strike force, circulating on social media, shows he belonged to Unit “03.”
According to an October 2019 Human Rights Watch investigation, five such “strike force” units had been created within Afghanistan’s intelligence apparatus. Operating outside the formal military and intelligence chain of command, they received direct orders from the CIA. Members of these units were trained, funded, and equipped by the CIA, and their operations were carried out based on intelligence and directives from CIA commanders in Afghanistan.
These units—NDS 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05—were deployed in different regions. Unit 03, to which Laknawal belonged, was based in Kandahar, the Taliban’s traditional stronghold, and conducted operations in Helmand and Uruzgan.
Human Rights Watch accused these units of killing civilians, targeting individuals with no Taliban affiliation, carrying out arbitrary arrests, and torturing detainees. The report documents extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, indiscriminate attacks, and raids on medical facilities. Many of these operations were based on faulty intelligence, mistaken identity, local rivalries, or unfounded allegations. In numerous cases, the victims were innocent civilians—including children, teachers, students, doctors, and health-care workers.
The report concludes that these forces operated outside Afghanistan’s official security structure and relied on CIA support, training, weapons, and intelligence. In some operations, U.S. forces accompanied them on the ground or provided air support.
Despite these details, Laknawal’s motive for shooting the National Guard members remains unclear. Some U.S. media outlets reported that he shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. NBC News quoted his former landlord in Bellingham, Washington, as saying that Laknawal lived there with his wife and five children. A relative also told the media that he had been wounded while fighting the Taliban before their return to power.
CNN reported that Laknawal applied for asylum in 2024; his application was approved quickly, and he received legal residency.
Reacting to the attack, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the assailant as an “animal,” saying he came from “hell on earth” and would “pay a heavy price” for his actions.
During the 2021 evacuation, the Biden administration brought nearly 90,000 Afghans to the United States through the program to resettle America’s Afghan allies. However, in June this year, 55 Afghan nationals were flagged in security reviews and added to the terrorism watchlist, prompting an investigation by the Department of Justice inspector general.
Trump administration officials have criticized the Biden administration, arguing that background checks on incoming Afghan evacuees were inadequate and that dangerous individuals entered the U.S. without proper screening.
In his first response to the incident, President Trump ordered a full security review of all Afghans who arrived after the U.S. withdrawal and suspended the processing of new resettlement cases.
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