PODCAST:
Dec. 1, 2025 ~ Daniel Roberts, former special agent at the Detroit FBI District, joins Chris Renwick, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds to discuss the D.C. shooting suspect, who was accused of shooting two National Guard members, being a part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON D.C. ~ The suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington D.C. last week reportedly served in a CIA-backed militia in Afghanistan and struggled with mental health and finances before the shooting
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was charged with first-degree murder after West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries, with him allegedly injuring one other. Several media sources have reported that the husband and father of five struggled with mental health and PTSD following his time serving the U.S. in Afghanistan, allegedly sitting in a darkened room for weeks at a time, and struggled to keep up with rent.
Lakanwal was recruited by the CIA in 2011 to Unit 03 of the Kandahar Strike Force, one of many “Zero Units” the agency backed during the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, using Afghan nationals to fight the Taliban. According to Human Rights Watch, Afghan diplomats referred to these units as “death squads,” having been accused of extrajudicial killings of civilians during night raids. Many of the Zero Unit members were granted asylum following the Taliban retaking of the country in 2021.
