The suspected shooter of two national guard members in Washington DC on Wednesday worked with CIA-backed military units during the US war in Afghanistan, the agency has confirmed.
The alleged gunman, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, came to the US in September 2021 under an Operation Allies Welcome program that gave some Afghans who had worked for the US government entry visas to the US. He was granted asylum in April this year, under the Trump administration, Reuters reported.
Lakanwal’s ties to the Central Intelligence Agency, which worked alongside US special forces in Afghanistan, were confirmed by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, to media outlets.
The New York Times reported that the shooting suspect had worked for several US government agencies in Afghanistan, including CIA-backed units in the southern province of Kandahar, a stronghold of the Taliban.
The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, said those CIA-backed units included counterterrorism squads known as the “zero units”, which were involved in combat missions to seize or kill suspected terrorists.
“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”.
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