The shooting of two National Guard members in Washington on Wednesday has triggered a national security review of refugee admissions after U.S. intelligence officials confirmed the suspect had worked with CIA-supported forces during the war in Afghanistan.
U.S. authorities identified the alleged gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who entered the country in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome — a program created to resettle Afghans who had assisted the United States government following the collapse of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government.
The CIA acknowledged Lakanwal’s past involvement after reports emerged linking him to American-backed military operations in Afghanistan. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed those ties in interviews with media outlets on Wednesday evening.
The New York Times reported that Lakanwal had worked with multiple U.S. government agencies during the war, including a CIA-backed unit operating out of Kandahar, a province that was long regarded as a Taliban stronghold.
The shooting of two National Guard members in Washington on Wednesday has triggered a national security review of refugee admissions after U.S. intelligence officials confirmed the suspect had worked with CIA-supported forces during the war in Afghanistan.
U.S. authorities identified the alleged gunman as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan national who entered the country in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome — a program created to resettle Afghans who had assisted the United States government following the collapse of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government.
The CIA acknowledged Lakanwal’s past involvement after reports emerged linking him to American-backed military operations in Afghanistan. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed those ties in interviews with media outlets on Wednesday evening.
The New York Times reported that Lakanwal had worked with multiple U.S. government agencies during the war, including a CIA-backed unit operating out of Kandahar, a province that was long regarded as a Taliban stronghold.
Ratcliffe said Lakanwal’s presence in the United States was the result of decisions made under the evacuation effort launched after the U.S. withdrawal.
“The Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the US government, including CIA,” Ratcliffe told Fox News digital, adding that Lakanwal’s involvement with the agency was “as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation”.
In response to the shooting, U.S. immigration authorities announced the immediate suspension of all Afghan immigration processing.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a public statement that applications from Afghan nationals would no longer be accepted until further notice.
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” the agency said on social media.
The incident also prompted a rapid security escalation in the nation’s capital.
President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 500 additional National Guard troops to Washington following the attack and publicly framed the shooting as a matter of national defense.
The president described the incident as an “act of terror” and warned that immigration now represents “the single greatest national security threat facing our nation”.
Adapted From: The Guardian
