What were the Afghans?

An image of an ID card circulating widely online Thursday purportedly showing the suspect in shooting against members of the National Guard He says he was assigned to the “Kandahar Strike Force” or unit “03”, one of the so-called “Zero Units” that worked closely with US and other foreign forces during the war. war in afghanistan.

The badge also bears the words “Firebase Gecko,” which was the name of a base used by the CIA and special forces in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, within what was formerly the compound of Taliban founding leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

News themezone has not independently verified the authenticity of the identification card shown in the photos, but CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the suspect had previously worked “with the United States government, including the CIA, as a member of an associated force in Kandahar.”

The “Zero Units” were composed exclusively 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 former U.S.-backed government.

A former high-ranking Afghan general under the previous government told News themezone on Thursday that “unit 03, also known as Kandahar Strike Force (KSF), was under the direction of NDS special forces. They were the most active and professional forces, trained and equipped by the CIA. All of their operations were carried out under the command of the CIA.”

The units were known in Afghanistan for their secrecy and alleged brutality, and their members were implicated in numerous extrajudicial executions of civilians, particularly during night raids.

The United States and its international partners considered them one of the most reliable internal forces in Afghanistan.

There was no immediate reaction from Afghanistan. current Taliban governmentand officials in Kabul did not respond to News themezone’ requests for comment on the arrest in Washington.

As a member of a Unit Zero, the suspect would have been virtually guaranteed an asylum route into the US because members of these elite units were high on the list of Taliban retaliation after the group regained control of the country. Many members of these units played key roles in the August 2021 campaign. Kabul evacuationin exchange for a guarantee of space on a flight for them and their families out of Afghanistan.