The shooting in DC by an Afghan suspect shouldn’t reflect on all Afghanistan, minister says

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan national charged in the shooting of two U.S. National Guard members last week had been previously trained by American forces, and his actions should not reflect on the people of Afghanistan, the country’s foreign minister said.

The remarks by Amir Khan Muttaqi were the first public comments on the case by Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Muttaqi spoke during a meeting of community elders on Wednesday, according to a statement released by his ministry.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder after one of the two victims, West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of wounds sustained in the Nov. 26 shooting. The second victim, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded.

Lakanwal pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and assault charges during his first hearing before a judge in Washington, D.C.. He appeared remotely by video from a hospital bed as he was also shot during last week’s attack.

“This is an individual incident and the person who committed this act was trained by the Americans,” Muttaqi said, adding that “this issue has nothing to do with the noble people of Afghanistan.”

In the wake of the shooting, the U.S. government has introduced sweeping immigration changes, including pausing asylum applications and requiring increased vetting for certain immigrants.

In Afghanistan, Lakanwal had worked in one of the special Afghan Army units known as Zero Units, which were backed by the CIA. He entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the Taliban seized power during the chaotic withdrawal of American and NATO troops. Many of those evacuated had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats.

“We have been saying for 20 years” that those operating as part of the Zero Units “have caused thousands of incidents in Afghanistan” and were also responsible for the deaths of Afghan citizens, Muttaqi said.

U.S. forces “personally trained this person, made him their official employee,” the minister added, and described the evacuation in which Lakanwal fled Afghanistan for the United States as “an illegal process that did not comply with any international principles.”

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Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.