Bellingham, Washington – Twenty‑nine‑year‑old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was once a member of a CIA‑backed Afghan commando unit accused of torture and civilian killings, was found dead after reportedly fatally shooting a National Guard soldier and critically injuring another in a district just blocks from the White House. The CIA’s head, John Ratcliffe, said Lakanwal “should never have been allowed to come here,” underscoring a pattern of bringing in Afghans tied to controversial covert operations.
The Washington Post learned that Lakanwal entered the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” a program intended to rescue Afghan allies. Neighbors noted he received a modest upkeep stipend and a simple apartment in Bellingham, where the family lived quietly – he played video games and his wife wore a hijab. He had also reportedly worked for Amazon’s delivery service, Amazon Flex.
After Kabul fell to Taliban rule, Lakanwal’s unit allegedly carried out brutal acts against civilians. A former friend later told The New York Times that the violence had left him mentally scarred; he couldn’t bear the images of blood and wounds. During the recent shooting, the suspect’s behavior aroused the suspicion of a “targeted” rampage, officials said, prompting the firing of a grave killing ramp (the U.S. attorney said if the wounded guard died, charges would intensify).
New‑year’s events saw President Trump call the attack “savage” and order an immediate deployment of 500 additional National Guard troops to protect the Capitol, adding to already-more-than‑2,100 in the Joint Task Force District of Columbia since August. He also announced a sweeping review of Afghan‑national asylum cases and an indefinite pause on all Afghan immigration processing.
The incident has thrown a spotlight on Operation Allies Welcome’s screening flaws. Two DHS Inspector General reports from 2022 highlighted gaps in the data available to vet evacuees, raising questions about the thousands of Afghans – roughly 76,000 – admitted under the program. Trump’s administration halted all Afghan resettlement shortly after he took office, but the Biden camp still blocked asylum applications, a talk that set the stage for the current controversy.
The shooter was under federal indictment on at least three counts of assault with intent to kill and criminal possession of a weapon. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro warned that prosecutors would seek the death penalty if any victim succumbed, while Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed that stance. A federal investigation is ongoing, and additional security protocols are expected to be tightened in the coming weeks.
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