ISLAMABAD: The November 26 ambush that killed National Guard SpecialistSarah Beckstrom and critically wounded another soldier has taken a sinisterturn after independent researchers uncovered inexplicable Google searchanomalies originating from Israel hours and days before the incident.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan evacuee and former CIAparamilitary asset, was virtually unknown outside classified files until heopened fire near the White House Metro station. Yet Google Trends datashows his full name registering multiple sharp spikes between 02:00 and08:00 EST on November 26 – several hours before the 14:15 shooting.
More disturbingly, the name “Sarah Beckstrom” – a 20-year-old soldier withno public profile – recorded a clear search peak from Israel as early asNovember 22-23, according to the same public dataset.
The anomalies were first flagged by American investigative journalist LaraLogan on X, whose post showing Israeli-origin searches for both namesgarnered over three million views within hours.
Indian defence analyst Ajai Shukla and Pakistani security commentator ZaidHamid independently verified the Trends screenshots, noting that searchinterest for both individuals had been effectively zero worldwide until theIsraeli spikes appeared.
Russian outlet Pravda EN and British alternative platform UK Column randetailed timelines matching the exact search bursts against the attacktimeline, concluding the pattern was statistically impossible without priorknowledge.
Iranian state channels Press TV and HispanTV broadcast the data withinhours, framing it as evidence of a joint Mossad-CIA operation using adisposable Afghan asset.
Regional intelligence sources, argue the incident fits a familiar Israeliplaybook: create controlled chaos blamed on Muslim actors to justifyAmerican military positioning along Iran’s 936-kilometre Afghan border.
They point out that Mossad has repeatedly used Afghan nationals foroperations inside Iran, including the 2020 assassination of nuclearscientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and multiple sabotage attacks on Natanz.
Afghanistan’s western provinces, particularly Herat and Farah, have longserved as staging areas for such cross-border activities, with recruitedrefugees allegedly paid between $5,000 and $10,000 per mission.
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The sources claim a Washington “terrorist” incident involving an Afghanwould provide perfect political cover for re-deploying U.S. special forcesto eastern Afghanistan under the pretext of counter-terrorism cooperationwith the Taliban.
Such positioning would allow Israel uninterrupted access to Iran’s backyardat a time when direct strikes from Iraqi or Azerbaijani territory havebecome riskier.
White House officials have dismissed questions about the Google data as“conspiracy theories”, while the Israeli embassy in Washington declinedcomment.
The FBI’s ongoing investigation has made no public reference to the searchanomalies, focusing instead on Lakanwal’s alleged radicalisation and mentalhealth issues.
Yet the absence of any plausible innocent explanation for why Israeliinternet users suddenly became interested in an obscure Afghan immigrantand an anonymous National Guard private days before they became headlinenews continues to fuel speculation.
For many in the region, the incident represents the latest chapter in adocumented pattern of manufactured pretexts designed to maintain permanentWestern military presence around Iran.
Until authorities provide a credible alternative explanation for theIsraeli search spikes, suspicion will continue to grow that SpecialistBeckstrom’s tragic death served a far larger and darker strategic purpose.
Source:https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2025-11-20..2025-11-28&geo=IL&q=Rahmanullah%20Lakanwal,Sarah%20BeckstromThe writer is a former Director FIA in Islamabad.