Suspect in Washington DC national guard shooting had ties to CIA, agency confirms | The Guardian |

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, worked with agency-backed military units during US war in Afghanistan

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.

U.S. Military Police walk past Afghan refugees at the Village at the Ft. McCoy U.S. Army base on Sept. 30, 2021, in Ft. McCoy, Wis.  (Photo: Barbara Davidson/Getty Images)

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 on Wednesday evening.

The New York Times reported that the shooting suspect had worked for several US government agencies in Afghanistan, including a CIA-backed unit in the southern province of Kandahar, a stronghold of the Taliban.

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