The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Archive: Lynzy Billing on Afghanistan's Zero Unit Night Raids
Dec 7, 2025
Investigative journalist Lynzy Billing dives into her harrowing multi-year investigation of Afghanistan's CIA-backed Zero Units, exposing the brutal realities of night raids. She shares her personal journey, sparked by a family tragedy that led her to uncover the units’ shady operations and their tragic impact on civilians. Billing recounts shocking eyewitness accounts and the emotional toll on families left without accountability. With at least 452 civilian deaths attributed to one Zero Unit, she highlights the urgent need for reform and accountability amidst ongoing secrecy.
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Personal Loss Sparked The Investigation
- Lynzy Billing returned to Nangarhar to investigate her family's past after learning her mother and sister were killed in a night raid nearly 30 years earlier.
- That personal search led her to uncover the Zero Units and start a years-long investigation into classified night raids.
Meeting A Widow Who Had No Recourse
- Billing met Mazala, a widow whose two children were killed in a night raid three months earlier, which pushed her to seek answers on the family's behalf.
- That meeting identified the Zero Units as the forces responsible and launched the local investigation.
Student Left Traumatised After Raid
- Billing described meeting Bahtur, a 22-year-old whose two brothers were killed by the O2 Zero Unit, leaving him traumatized and alone.
- She noted survivors' ongoing fear, nightmares, and how wrongful raids alienated citizens from the Afghan government.