Fight Against Taliban Is ‘Struggle For Freedom, Not Partition’, Says Resistance Leader

In a post on X on Wednesday, Gabbard said authorities were coordinating closely to complete the inquiry. She wrote that her “heartfelt prayers” were with the two West Virginia National Guard members who “will not be at home with their loved ones this Thanksgiving Day.”

Gabbard said President Donald Trump’s directive to conduct stringent background checks on individuals who entered the United States during President Joe Biden’s administration was being implemented. She added that “truth and justice must prevail.”

The shooting suspect, identified as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was wounded and arrested after ambushing the two soldiers. The FBI is investigating the incident as a possible act of terrorism, though a motive has not yet been established.

He is a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously served in the former Afghan army and was resettled in the United States in 2021 as a partner of US forces.

Washington police said the suspect ambushed the two service members without any verbal exchange and shot them in the head. Investigators recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the attack. Lakanwal was also wounded by gunfire. According to reports by Time and NBC News, citing security officials, he was shot four times but his injuries were not life-threatening.

Time, quoting one of Lakanwal’s close friends, reported that he grew up in Afghanistan’s Khost province before joining the Afghan National Army. He later served in Kandahar, where he worked alongside US special forces.

The friend said both he and Lakanwal had been targeted by the Taliban as partners of US forces and that their lives were in danger after the Taliban takeover in 2021. He told NBC: “We were the people the Taliban hunted in Afghanistan,” adding that he could not believe Lakanwal would carry out such an attack. He said the last time they spoke, several months ago, Lakanwal had been working for Amazon and Amazon Flex, delivering packages in his personal vehicle.

A relative told NBC the family had lost contact with him in recent months and did not know what changes he may have experienced. “I don’t know what happened,” the relative said, adding that he wanted to understand the circumstances that led to the shooting.

Reports of past service with US-linked Afghan special forces

NDTV, citing Taliban sources, reported that Lakanwal had previously served in “Unit 01,” an elite Afghan special forces unit that was trained and equipped by US intelligence agencies. Those sources claimed that some former members of the unit had struggled with psychological problems, though US officials have not confirmed those claims.

Both Time and NBC reported that after arriving in the United States, Lakanwal settled in Bellingham, Washington, where he lived with his wife and five children.

According to US government records, Lakanwal entered the country in September 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, the programme created to resettle vulnerable Afghans and local partners of US forces after the withdrawal.

The Department of Homeland Security said he was admitted under humanitarian parole, a temporary status permitting limited stay and work rights. CNN reported that Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted asylum in April 2025, giving him lawful refugee status.

After the shooting, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the suspension of all immigration processing for Afghan nationals pending additional security reviews, a move directly linked to the case and criticised by Afghan refugee-advocacy groups.

John Ratcliffe, former director of the CIA, told Fox News that Lakanwal had worked with several US government entities in Afghanistan, including the CIA, describing him as a member of a US-partnered force in Kandahar. Ratcliffe said the Biden administration justified his resettlement in 2021 on the basis of that past cooperation.

Counterterrorism officials said the FBI is treating the case as a potential act of terrorism, though investigators have not identified a motive. Authorities confirmed that Lakanwal acted alone and that no additional suspects are being sought.

Abdullah Farooqi, spokesperson for the Taliban Border Police, said the delegation is scheduled to meet several senior Tajik security officials. In a video message on Wednesday, Farooqi said the group would hold talks with the governor of Tajikistan’s Badakhshan autonomous region, the deputy head of the National Security Committee for border affairs, and other officials. Abdul Manan Hassan, the Taliban’s deputy military chief of the Border Police, is also part of the delegation.

Hekmatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s head of water and energy in Badakhshan, said the delegation had reached important understandings during the meetings. According to him, both sides agreed to curb illegal cross-border movement, exchange intelligence, establish joint border markets and strengthen mutual trust.

The visit follows a high-level Tajik delegation’s trip to Kabul on 17 November, during which Tajik officials met Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss expanding cooperation across various sectors, including diplomatic and economic ties.

Earlier, Yousuf Wafa, the Taliban governor of Balkh and a close ally of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, visited Dushanbe at Tajikistan’s invitation and called for the handover of Afghanistan’s embassy.

Tajikistan remains one of the Central Asian states with the lowest level of diplomatic engagement with the Taliban. Concerns over the presence and activity of militant groups inside Afghanistan continue to shape regional security discussions.

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq Khan, and Tajikistan’s ambassador to Islamabad, Yusuf Sharifzoda, also discussed Afghanistan and ways to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation, with regional stability high on their agenda.

Gul Hassan, the Taliban’s ambassador in Moscow, raised the issue during talks with Bakhtiyor Khakimov, the Russian president’s special representative to the SCO. Russia is the only country that recognises the Taliban authorities.

According to a statement from the Taliban embassy in Moscow, the meeting focused on “reactivating Afghanistan’s observer status” for future SCO gatherings.

The SCO, founded in 2001, includes Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Iran and Uzbekistan as full members. Belarus joined on 4 July 2024. Afghanistan and Mongolia hold observer status, while dialogue partners range from Azerbaijan and Armenia to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Sri Lanka.

Unlike the Taliban administration, Mongolia has continued to attend SCO meetings as an observer over the past four years. Despite Russia’s recognition of the Taliban, the group was not invited to the 24th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, held in Moscow on 18 November.

The embassy said Hassan also discussed the outcomes of the latest SCO meeting with Khakimov, who reportedly stressed the importance of removing obstacles and maintaining dialogue. He suggested that Afghanistan’s participation as an observer would benefit all parties.

Earlier this year, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry claimed that China had invited its representatives to an SCO meeting, but the group was also excluded from the SCO foreign ministers’ gathering held in China on 15 July.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Sadiq Khan said Pakistan and Iran were committed to working with regional partners to address shared security concerns, particularly terrorism, and to promote peace and stability. He described the meeting as a useful opportunity to exchange views on recent regional developments.

The talks took place as tensions have again risen along Afghanistan’s eastern border, where Pakistan has recently carried out strikes on targets inside the country.

Earlier, Sadiq met Yusuf Sharifzoda, Tajikistan’s ambassador to Islamabad, for discussions on Afghanistan and efforts to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation.