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
Politicians Are Betraying Gen Z On Climate
Take Action Now While Gen-Zers thrift, knit, crochet, and find other ways to reduce our footprints, Trump and the GOP are greenlighting more climate…
Trump’s Deportation Threat Against Zohran Mamdani Is Shameful
Take Action Now In only half a year of Donald Trump’s presidency, he and his allies have turned deportation into an explicitly political threat…
Teachers Union Votes To Cut Ties To The Anti-Defamation League
Take Action Now In a momentous vote, the National Education Association voted to cut all ties with the Anti-Defamation League. The reason? “Despite…
2025 War Abolisher Awards Go To Albanese, Nader, Waters
Take Action Now The purpose of the awards is to honor and encourage support for those working to abolish the institution of war itself.By World…