Brother of alleged DC gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal was a platoon leader in elite CIA-backed ‘Zero Unit'

Shocking Ties to CIA's Shadowy Afghan 'Death Squads' Emerge in DC Guard Shooting Probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — The brother of the Afghan national accused of ambushing two U.S. National Guard members in the nation's capital was a high-ranking leader in one of the CIA's most elite—and controversial—paramilitary units, a former squad official disclosed Friday.The disclosure, first reported by PBS News, comes as the investigation into Wednesday's brazen daylight attack near the White House intensifies, with one victim succumbing to her wounds and the other fighting for life in critical condition.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, the alleged gunman, faces federal charges including three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and possession of a firearm during a violent crime, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Authorities described the shooting as an "ambush-style" assault, with Lakanwal allegedly firing a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver at the uniformed guardsmen from a vehicle before being wounded in the ensuing chaos.

But the story's layers deepened dramatically Thursday when CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Lakanwal's own decade-long entanglement with U.S. intelligence operations in Afghanistan. Recruited at age 17 into the notorious "Zero Unit"—formally known as the Kandahar Strike Force or NDS-03—Lakanwal conducted high-stakes counterterrorism raids alongside CIA paramilitary officers and U.S. Special Forces, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

These units, Afghan-manned but CIA-backed, were infamous for their "leave no one alive" nighttime operations targeting Taliban strongholds, often in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.

A former official from Lakanwal's unit, speaking anonymously due to the operation's classified nature, went further: Lakanwal himself rose to the rank of team leader, while his unnamed brother commanded an entire platoon within the same shadowy outfit.

"They were under immense pressure—raids that left villages depopulated, accusations of executions, civilian casualties," the ex-official told reporters, painting a picture of the psychological toll exacted by the Zero Units' brutal mandate.

Human rights watchdogs, including a 2020 Intercept exposé dubbed "The CIA's Death Squads," have long accused these forces of summary killings, including children in religious schools, and widespread abuses that fueled local resentment.

Lakanwal's path from Afghan villager in Khost province to alleged assailant in the shadow of the White House traces the fractured legacy of the U.S. invasion. He joined the Zero Unit around 2011, serving eight grueling years amid escalating violence.

As the Taliban surged following the 2021 U.S. withdrawal, Lakanwal fled under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program fast-tracking visas for Afghan allies at risk of reprisals.

He arrived in the U.S. that September, resettling in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and five young children, where he lived quietly—until FBI agents raided his apartment complex overnight, seizing laptops, cellphones, and iPads in a hunt for clues to his motive.

Friends and relatives paint a man haunted by his past. "He couldn't tolerate the blood, the bodies—it weighed on his mind," a childhood companion told The New York Times, suggesting untreated trauma from the war's horrors may have unraveled into the "mental issues" cited by investigators.

Lakanwal's asylum, initially granted in April under the prior administration and reaffirmed amid a visa expiration, has ignited a partisan firestorm. President Donald Trump decried the "horrendous airlift" of "unvetted" Afghans as a Biden failure, vowing to "permanently pause migration from all Third World countries."

The human cost mounts: Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old West Virginia National Guardsman slain in the attack, was eulogized Friday as a "hero" by fellow troops, her final moments captured in bystander video showing a comrade subduing the suspect.

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