The Wire - November 27, 2025

//The Wire//1500Z November 27, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: DC SHOOTER IDENTIFIED AS FORMER AFGHAN SOLDIER BROUGHT TO USA AFTER THE FALL OF KABUL. HONG KONG FIRE RESULTS IN DOZENS OF FATALITIES.//

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-International Events-

Africa: A military coup was reported yesterday in Guinea-Bissau, with President Umaro Sissoco Embaló being arrested at his residence in Bissau. This follows a few weeks of election issues after the President disqualified his political opponent from the election.

Analyst Comment: The fall of Guinea-Bissau is the latest addition to what has been colloquially referred to as the "coup belt", a line of nations stretching east-west across Africa, which have been host to overthrowing their governments over the past five years.

Hong Kong: Yesterday a multiple-alarm fire broke out at a series of high-rise apartment buildings that were undergoing renovation in Tai Po. Around one thousand firefighters, medical, and police officers worked to extinguished the fires, which involved 7 of the 8 skyscrapers that comprise the Wang Fuk Court housing project. Concerning casualties, 65x fatalities are confirmed so far, however potentially hundreds of people remain missing as this complex provided housing for roughly 4,000 people. A few hours after the fire broke out, three people who worked for the construction company conducting repairs on the buildings were arrested on suspicion of arson.

Analyst Comment: Although several people were arrested, it's not clear as to if this was a deliberate attack or a preventable accident. Right now, locals suspect criminal negligence: the contractor is said to have cut corners during the renovation project, by using highly flammable netting and foam insulation during construction. If this is really what happened, this would explain the rapid spread of the fire to seven different structures. An investigation will be needed to confirm the origin and explain the rapid spread of the fire, but right now this incident bears striking resemblance to the Grenfell Tower fire, which rapidly consumed the London apartment building in a similar manner back in 2017. That incident occurred in nearly the same manner, with highly flammable foam insulation being used to insulate the structure, which caught fire and allowed the flames to spread rapidly.

-HomeFront-

Washington D.C. - The suspect in yesterday's shooting has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a former Afghan soldier who worked with the United States as part of the Afghan intelligence services during the Global War on Terrorism. Ramanullah was granted entry to the United States in 2021 under Operation ALLIES WELCOME, the program to evacuate Afghans who worked with the US government during the occupation.

Regarding the attack itself, more details have come to light which help explain how the attack was carried out. Rahmanullah approached the two soldiers with a revolver, shooting one in the head immediately and severely wounding the other. This took both soldiers out of the fight immediately, as neither had time to react.

By happenstance, one of their officers (a Major) was walking on foot in their vicinity, conducting an informal spot check of the various security posts set up in the area. This Major was not armed with a service weapon, but was the primary responder at the time of the attack. After the two soldiers were engaged, the Major took up a position of cover and concealment near the shooter. When the shooter stopped firing and began reloading, the Major attacked the shooter with a personally owned pocket knife, stabbing the attacker in the head and torso. As this hand-to-hand engagement was occurring, another armed soldier arrived and engaged the attacker with his firearm, striking the suspect several times in the extremities. From there, a dogpile situation occurred and the attacker was detained.

Analyst Co