On Wednesday, the Afghan suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, fired at close range as they patrolled the streets. US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries the next day, while US Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition. The incident has raised serious questions about security protocols, especially regarding people who entered the United States under special programs aimed at assisting those who collaborated with American forces.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the suspect, reportedly worked with the CIA during the US occupation of Afghanistan. Officials said he entered the US under a special program set up to evacuate vulnerable Afghans, including those who had worked with Western troops, after the Taliban recaptured the country in 2021. CIA Director John Ratcliffe announced on Thursday that Lakanwal was admitted into the US in September 2021 due to his prior work with the US Government, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation. Ratcliffe, echoing comments made by President Donald Trump, criticized the decision, stating that individuals with such ties should never have been allowed to come here.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that Lakanwal had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces. The BBC’s Afghan Service cited a former military commander who served alongside Lakanwal, saying he worked as a GPS tracker specialist in a unit known as Scorpion Forces, which operated under the CIA and later under Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security. Lakanwal also reportedly helped guard American troops at Kabul airport during the final weeks of the withdrawal. The ex-commander told the BBC that Lakanwal moved from Kandahar to Kabul five days before the Taliban entered the capital in August 2021 and was airlifted to the US six days later.