WASHINGTON: Two US National Guard soldiers were shot and critically wounded Wednesday two blocks from the White House and police said a suspect had been taken into custody.
“Please join me in praying for the two National Guardsmen who were just shot moments ago in Washington DC,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X.
An AFP reporter near the scene said she heard several loud pops that sounded like gunshots, and then saw people running away from Farragut Square, a popular and busy outdoor area near the White House and a subway station.
Trump, who is in Florida, was quickly briefed on the “tragic” situation, a spokeswoman said.
“The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Local authorities confirmed that emergency services responded to and transported three gunshot victims from the area.
Secret Service were seen behind yellow police tape, their guns drawn.
“We heard gunshots. We were waiting at the traffic light and there were several shots,” Angela Perry, who was in her car with her two children, told AFP.
“You could see National Guard running toward the metro with their weapons drawn,” the 42-year-old said.
Trump has sent National Guard troops to Democratic-run Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis to combat crime and help enforce his crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Last Thursday a federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in the US capital is unlawful.
His extraordinary domestic use of the Guard was also challenged by California earlier this year after the president sent troops to Los Angeles to quell protests sparked by the rounding up of undocumented migrants.
Two National Guard soldiers shot near White House, suspect in custody
https://arab.news/4pycw
Two National Guard soldiers shot near White House, suspect in custody
- Emergency services responded to and transported three gunshot victims from the area
- Trump, who is in Florida, was quickly briefed on the “tragic” situation
Militants kill 6 officers and a civilian in ambushes on police vehicles in northwest Pakistan
- Assailants ambushed a police vehicle and killed one officer in Kohat — when police reinforcements arrived, they launched another attack and killed five more officers and a civilian
- No group claimed responsibility for this week’s attacks, but suspicion may fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or the TTP
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A pair of attacks on police vehicles by suspected militants killed at least six police officers and a civilian in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, authorities said.
The assailants ambushed a police vehicle and killed one officer in Kohat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. When police reinforcements arrived minutes later, they launched another attack and killed five more officers and a civilian, police official Kamran Khan said.
Separately on Tuesday, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a police post in Bukkur, a district in eastern Punjab province, killing two officers and wounding four others, police official Shahzad Rafiq said.
He provided no further details and only said officers were still investigating.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have increased across the country in recent months.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attacks in Kohat and Bukkur and offered condolences to the victims’ families.
The latest violence followed an attack on a paramilitary post in Karak on Monday, when a drone loaded with explosives wounded several officers. The attackers later ambushed two ambulances transporting the wounded, killing three officers and burning their bodies before fleeing. The driver of the second ambulance transported several wounded officers despite suffering burn injuries and authorities recovered the remains of the three officers.
No group claimed responsibility for this week’s attacks, but suspicion may fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or the TTP. The TTP is separate from, but closely allied with, Afghanistan’s Taliban. Islamabad has accused the group of operating from inside Afghanistan, a claim the TTP and Kabul deny.
Pakistan’s military said it killed at least 70 militants on Sunday in strikes along the Afghan border, targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants blamed for recent attacks inside the country.
