Nationwide Guard capturing suspect served in CIA counterterrorism unit, group says

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan man who allegedly shot two Nationwide Guard members in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, beforehand served in certainly one of Afghanistan’s elite counterterrorism items, in response to AfghanEvac, a nonprofit run by U.S. veterans and others who served in Afghanistan.

The unit was operated by the CIA with direct U.S. intelligence and army assist, in response to AfghanEvac.

Lakanwal’s unit, NDS-03, operated on the course of the CIA and fought the Taliban on behalf of the U.S. authorities, the group stated.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated in a press release earlier Thursday that the shooter concerned within the assault, who got here to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021, was admitted into the U.S. “due to his prior work with the U.S. Government, including CIA.”

He’s more likely to have been vetted a number of occasions throughout his journey to the US, in response to the group, which works with Afghans who helped the U.S.

Lakanwal was evacuated by the U.S. army in August 2021, following the autumn of Kabul within the first yr of the Biden administration.

He arrived within the U.S. beneath humanitarian parole, the short-term authority used to evacuate tens of hundreds of Afghans on particular immigrant visas and people Afghans who labored with the U.S. and had been in danger from the Taliban. He utilized for asylum within the Biden years and was granted asylum in April 2025, beneath the Trump administration.

Throughout a press convention on Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel stated Lakanwal’s involvement with U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan could be a central focus of the investigation.

“This subject had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces,” Patel stated. “We are fully investigating that aspect of his background as well, to include any known associates that are either overseas or who are here in the United States of America.”

Patel additionally stated, with out offering proof, that Lakanwal was allowed into the U.S. by the Biden administration with out correct vetting. Patel blamed “the failure to vet any way, in any way, shape or form, this individual and countless others.”

Lakanwal had an lively particular immigrant visa (SIV) utility underway, given to those that labored with the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although he had acquired chief of mission approval, a compulsory step required for the SIV, he hadn’t but been granted lawful everlasting residence — or a inexperienced card.

AfghanEvac famous that each the functions for chief of mission approval in addition to asylum would have required evaluation and vetting by the U.S. authorities, together with the CIA.

In an interview with NPR, the founding father of AfghanEvac, Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, stated it is untimely to say whether or not Lakanwal warranted extra scrutiny.

“We don’t know yet. If there was a vetting failure, we’ve got to fix it, but we can’t paint with a broad brush this entire community, right? The vast majority of Afghans who have come here and are just good upstanding citizens,” VanDiver stated.

Vetting for asylum contains id and background checks, biometric vetting, in-person interviews, and an evaluation of individualized danger and eligibility beneath U.S. legislation. These granted asylum can apply for a inexperienced card after one yr.

“This violent act does not reflect the Afghan community, which continues to contribute across the United States and undergoes some of the most extensive vetting of any immigrant population,” AfghanEvac stated in a press release.