An ID badge circulating online that purportedly shows the suspect in the National Guard shootings lists his assignment as the “Kandahar Strike Force” or “03” unit — one of several so-called “Zero Units” that worked closely with U.S. and other foreign forces during the war in Afghanistan. The badge also bears the name “Firebase Gecko,” a base used by the CIA and special forces in Kandahar located inside what had been the compound of the Taliban’s founding leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.
CBS News has not independently verified the badge’s authenticity, but CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the suspect previously worked “with the U.S. Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar.” The Zero Units were made up exclusively of Afghan nationals and operated under the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the intelligence agency set up with CIA support for Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed government.
A former senior Afghan general told CBS News that the “03 unit, also known as the Kandahar Strike Force (KSF), was under [the] 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.” The units were known within Afghanistan for their secrecy and alleged brutality; members have been implicated in numerous extrajudicial killings of civilians, particularly during night raids.
Despite such allegations, the Zero Units were considered among the most trusted domestic forces by the U.S. and its international partners. There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan’s current Taliban government, and Kabul officials did not respond to CBS News’ requests for comment about the arrest in Washington.
Because Zero Unit members were high priorities for Taliban retaliation after the group’s return to power, membership typically offered a clear path to asylum in the United States. Many members of these units secured evacuation seats for themselves and their families during the August 2021 withdrawal from Kabul in exchange for their roles assisting U.S. forces.
