ISLAMABAD: An Afghan national living in the United States under the Biden-era “Operation Allies Welcome” program has been arrested in Fort Worth, Texas, after posting a video online appearing to assemble an explosive device, according to a senior US homeland security official, it emerged on Saturday.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security said on X that the suspect, identified as Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, uploaded a TikTok video showing himself putting together what he implied was an explosive. She said the footage suggested he intended to target the Fort Worth area.
Alokozay was taken into custody on Tuesday by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. He has been charged with making terroristic threats.
The arrest was made a day before another Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, carried out a shooting in Washington. Lakanwal opened fire on members of the US National Guard during a routine patrol near a residential neighborhood close to the Capitol. Two soldiers were critically wounded before he was arrested.
Authorities in Washington have described the attack as a deliberate act of terror. Lakanwal had been in the United States for more than a year.
The two incidents, reported within 24 hours of each other, have intensified political focus on President Donald Trump’s new immigration measures. The president has launched a “reverse migration” initiative aimed at removing individuals who, in his words, “do not belong here or do not add benefit”.
He has ordered a detailed reassessment of Afghans who entered the country under Operation Allies Welcome, directing agencies to conduct fresh security reviews on a case-by-case basis.
The White House has also instructed officials to reexamine all refugee, parole, and humanitarian programs established during the previous administration. Additional directives are expected as scrutiny of recent arrivals expands.
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