Our new visual investigation shows how a secretive compound northeast of Kabul — the site of the Salt Pit, where the CIA previously tortured detainees — became the agency's hub for clandestine evacuations before parts of it were deliberately destroyed: nytimes.com/2021/09/01/wor…
Also known as COBALT and “the dark prison,” Salt Pit became operational in Sept. 2002 after Langley approved $200K for construction next to an abandoned brick factory. Image shows it in 2003. By late 2004, the agency stopped using the site as a prison, official documents suggest.
The Salt Pit operated in full secrecy during those nearly two years. It was only in 2005 that the black site's existence became publicly known when @danapriest and others exposed how a detainee in CIA custody was stripped, shackled, and left to die. washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content…
So what happened to the CIA black site after 2004? Parts became Eagle Base to train Afghan counterterrorism units. Virtually no on-the-ground footage exist, so we analyzed nearly two decades of satellite imagery and spoke with sources to map out the highly secured compound.
The CIA first appeared to begin destroying buildings at the Salt Pit throughout April and May, a daily analysis of @planet satellite imagery shows. That's right after President Biden said the US would leave Afghanistan by September.
Interestingly, we know from historical satellite imagery that construction on these demolished buildings began between 2002 and 2004 — the years that US lawmakers say the CIA engaged in torture at the site.
More destruction appears to have occurred on Aug. 27, the day the Pentagon said US forces carried out controlled demolitions of their own equipment. NASA active-fire data, mapped here by @FIRIS_FireAlert, shows heat signatures across the CIA compound.
Eagle Base, where the CIA trained Afghan forces (see:
), was originally established the former brick factory but later expanded northward. These new structures — an apparent ammo depot and elaborate training site — were largely destroyed on Aug. 27.
The destroyed buildings very likely contained documents, hard drives, and other sensitive information, a former CIA contractor told @nytimes. Officials have confirmed that Eagle Base was destroyed. nytimes.com/2021/08/28/us/…
Before the CIA abandoned its last base in Afghanistan, it used the compound as an evacuation hub for Americans and Afghans who were likely to be targeted by the Taliban. We tasked a @planet satellite to take an image of the site on Aug. 24, showing dozens of vehicles lined up.
While Kabul's airport is only a 10-minute drive away, evacuees were flown by Mi-171E helicopters to Hamid Karzai International Airport to avoid Taliban checkpoints. Hundreds were evacuated this way between Aug. 15-28, people briefed on the operations told @nytimes.
This graphic shows three flights from Aug. 15 that show the routes these Mi-171E helicopters typically took over the past few weeks between the CIA site, HKIA and sometimes the Green Zone, including the U.S. Embassy compound.
Combined with these destinations, the types of aircraft used (Russian-made Mi-17s modified for heat) and their opaque ownership structures (U.S.-based ghost companies) provide clues that these flights were most likely designed to be covert and be involved in sensitive missions.
We found (and corroborated with flight data) that one of the Mi-171E helicopters was inadvertently captured in a livestream by @MARCATV, a Spanish news outlet, as it flew from HKIA to the CIA compound toward the compound on Aug. 20.
The CIA has previously acknowledged that it has flown Mi-17s — and even used one to enter Afghanistan back in Sept. 2001 to kick-start the war.
The evacuations and building demolitions at the CIA compound appeared complete by Aug. 28. Two days later, Taliban fighters were already inside, videos we geolocated to the Salt Pit show. “This was a very important place,” one says, as his camera panned across the wreckage.
The video above is, as far as I know, the first ever inside look into the Salt Pit. The site was so secretive that even on-the-ground photos from its interior are rare. I'll post all that we could verify in a different thread, here:
Also, big thanks to @planet, and all that reported on Salt Pit before, whether it's the first geolocation (@trevorpaglen in 2005!) or open source investigators and experts (thx @cencio4 for helping defining when a Mi-17 is Soviet-made, Russian-made or Soviet-designed).
We're continuing our coverage on Afghanistan and please feel free to reach out via DM, email or phone with tips and suggestions. You can see all our Visual Investigations here: nytimes.com/spotlight/visu…
Since publishing, we've found the clearest visual yet of one the US-operated Mi-17s mentioned in our story (thanks @UBannow). Here it is, offloading evacuees at the military side of HKIA. Flight data shows it had just returned from the heliport at the CIA compound.
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Geolocation of the building in northern Tehran where Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly assassinated: 35.81931, 51.41559. An Iranian official shared the image with @farnazfassihi, and it is circulating on Telegram. Green cloth and rubble is visible on the east side of the building.
A satellite image captured by @Maxar on July 25 does not show the green cloth or the rubble on the first-floor roof, suggesting that the image above that's circulating is recent indeed. The building is adjacent to the Saadabad Palace, and near the president's official residence.
In recent months, one of Haiti's most powerful gangs — 5 Segonn — promoted itself with brash rap videos. Recently, however, the gang has obtained better weapons and is presenting itself as a paramilitary force. Our visual investigation takes a deep dive: nyti.ms/4bPiJXx
The rise of Haitian gangs started a few decades ago, when they were used by politicians to suppress voter turnout or anti-government protests, and by oligarchs for land grabs and attacks on rivals. Now, they've found independent financial lifelines, changing the dynamic.
But since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the security situation in Haiti has deteriorated and these gangs have stepped in to fill the void. They now control or exert their influence across most of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Satellite imagery of Port-au-Prince, captured on March 14, shows the deteriorating conditions in Haiti's capital due to ongoing gang violence. This image (wide and crop) show roadblocks, burning debris and trash blocking Rte de Delmas near the city's main hospitals. Image: @Maxar
Smoke can be seen rising near St. Francois de Sales hospital, in Port-au-Prince, March 14, 2024. Image: @Maxar. A unified front of gangs forced Haiti's prime minister to resign. More: nytimes.com/2024/03/14/wor…
@Maxar Shipping containers are used to block access to heavy cranes in the port of Haiti's capital, as seen on the @Maxar satellite image.
The Biden admin has hailed its efforts to restrict Iran's oil revenue — and its ability to fund proxy militias. But lax government oversight allowed deceptive tankers to move $2.8 billion worth of oil, all with American insurance. Our visual investigation: nyti.ms/3I0dQOr
Since this investigation — with @BlackiLi, @_neilbedi, @ajcardia and @bottidavid — relied heavily on openly available online sources and tools, I wanted to give some insights in our reporting process below.
@BlackiLi @_neilbedi @ajcardia @bottidavid Last year, we wrote about how tankers “spoofed” their location while picking up price-capped Russian oil. From that reporting, we knew this was happening in Iran too: four of the six ships we identified in Russia had been involved in Iran before that.
Just moments ago, reports of yet another drone attack in Moscow (early hours of August 1), making it the fourth attack in the span of just one week. Threading details as they emerge below:
This video shows smoke rising at a skyscraper in Moscow City, a symbol of Russia's economic resurgency under Putin. The area was also hit by a suspected Ukrainian-made Bober drone on July 30. https://t.co/4fdGOS8yDnt.me/ENews112/14811
According to Tass, the Russian state news agency citing “emergency services”, one drone was shot down in the Moscow Region while another one hit, indeed, one of the Moscow City skyscrapers.
https://t.co/fl9oG1SUB7t.me/tass_agency/20… t.me/tass_agency/20…
“The only way to stop this,” Ukraine's military intelligence told us, “is the immediate withdrawal of Russian occupation troops from Ukraine.” Our latest visual investigation into Kyiv's growing fleet of homegrown kamikaze drones that have hit Moscow: nyti.ms/455tphc
Public glimpses of Ukraine's long-range kamikaze drone program are rare. The first came in December, when influencer @igorlachenkov got an unexpected phone call from GUR, Ukraine's military intelligence. They needed money, and fast, for a “drone that can fly very far.”
@igorlachenkov Lachenkov, who had been raising money for the war effort, asked his million followers on Telegram for donations. 20 million hryvnia, or about half a million dollars, was needed to fund five Bobers — Ukraine's equivalent of the Iranian-made Shaheds used by Russia.