An Afghan national accused of shooting two U.S. National Guardsmen near the White House served in an elite CIA counterterrorism unit before arriving in the United States in 2021, according to new details released by a non-profit organization that assists Afghan evacuees with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV). Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is alleged to have targeted the Guardsmen near the Farragut West Metro station on the day before Thanksgiving. The suspect’s background has raised questions about the vetting process for immigrants under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program.
According to Afghan Evac, Lakanwal was part of NDS-03, a CIA-led unit based in southern Afghanistan, including the regions of Kandahar, Helmand, and Uruzgan. The unit operated from the former compound of the late Taliban leader Mullah Omar, known as ‘Camp Gecko,’ and was part of a broader network of CIA-run paramilitary groups. These units were trained and supported by the CIA, conducting counterterrorism operations against groups such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Lakanwal, who joined the unit around 2011, was likely under the age of 18 at the time, with many Afghans forging birth certificates to meet age requirements for U.S. government positions.
The suspect entered the United States in 2021, when the Biden administration launched Operation Allies Welcome to resettle Afghans who had supported U.S. military efforts. Lakanwal’s asylum application was eventually approved under the Trump administration in April 2025, according to Afghan Evac. Federal officials, including U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel, criticized the current vetting process, stating that thousands of individuals had been granted entry without proper background checks. Pirro claimed that the shooting demonstrated the risks of allowing unvetted individuals into the country, while Patel accused the Biden administration of allowing thousands to enter without any vetting.
A senior U.S. official told Fox News that the CIA had conducted its own vetting of Lakanwal through the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) database, finding no links to terrorist activities at the time of his immigration. However, the official noted that the U.S. government had been conducting continuous vetting of Afghan evacuees since their arrival, especially after a foiled terror plot in Oklahoma that involved an Afghan evacuee. The official added that all checks on Lakanwal had come back ‘clean,’ but the incident has prompted renewed scrutiny of the vetting process for immigration and resettlement programs under the current administration.
Lakanwal is accused of ambushing the Guardsmen in a targeted attack, with the assailant being subdued and hospitalized after a confrontation with a responding officer. The victims, National Guardsmen Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, remain in critical condition after surgery. The case has sparked calls for reform in U.S. immigration and security protocols, as officials continue to probe the circumstances surrounding the suspect’s access to the United States and his ability to conduct such an attack despite the supposed vetting process.