By Andrew Quilty and Matthew Cole, The Intercept
BEFORE THE TALIBAN took control of Kabul in August, the U.S.-backed Afghan commandos known as Zero units were the ghosts of the Afghan battlefield. Along with their CIA advisers, they were feared and, in recent years, virtually invisible.
But in the hectic, violent weeks between the Taliban victory and the U.S. military withdrawal, fighters belonging to a Zero unit known as 01 — and other linked militias known collectively as National Strike Units, or NSUs — helped the Americans secure Hamid Karzai International Airport. Firing warning shots day and night, 01 fighters sought to corral and search crowds of Afghans and foreigners trying to enter the airport to board evacuation flights, much as Taliban fighters struggled to maintain control at other airport entrances around the same time.
Recent Posts
‘Total Amateur Hour’: FBI Official Says Antifa Is #1 Threat in US—But Can’t Say Where, Who, or What It Is
Take Action Now “Just a complete admission here that the entire ‘antifa’ threat narrative is totally manufactured by this administration,” said one…
Utah Leaders Are Hindering Efforts To Develop Solar Despite A Goal To Double The State’s Energy Supply
Take Action Now Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed bills that will make it more difficult and expensive to develop and produce solar energy, ending tax…
Report of the Independent Democratic Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward Israel
Take Action Now For release in connection with the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee convening on December 11, 2025 in Los Angeles……
U.S. Realizes It Can Seize Boats After All
Take Action Now After months of extrajudicial killings in the waters off Venezuela, the Trump administration opted instead to capture an oil tanker.……