The FBI in El Paso has received a referral from military police at the Army’s Doña Ana Complex camp in Fort Bliss asking the bureau to investigate an assault on a female soldier by some recently arrived Afghan refugees.
Sources told El Paso TV station KVIA that the woman was not sexually assaulted and her injuries did not require hospitalization.
According to KVIA, the assault occurred around midnight in the Fort Bliss parking lot, where the female soldier was preparing to report for duty.
“We can confirm a female service member supporting Operation Allies Welcome reported being assaulted on Sept. 19 by a small group of male evacuees at the Doña Ana Complex in New Mexico,” the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss Public Affairs said in an emailed statement. “We take the allegation seriously and appropriately referred the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The safety and well-being of our service members, as well as all of those on our installations, is paramount.”
The statement added that counseling and support has been provided to the service member.
“Task Force-Bliss is also implementing additional security measures to include increased health and safety patrols, additional lighting, and enforcement of the buddy system at the Dona Ana Complex,” the statement continued. “We will cooperate fully with the FBI and will continue to ensure the service member reporting this assault is fully supported.”
The local congresswoman, Rep. Yvette Herrell, believes the assault represents a “vetting” failure.
My prayers are with the courageous soldier and her family. This is yet another tragic failure in the vetting process for Afghan nationals. The American people deserve answers.https://t.co/UB8ehTjCwO
— Rep. Yvette Herrell (@RepHerrell) September 24, 2021
There appears to be a lot of that vetting failure thing going around.
The alleged attack comes on the heels of two Afghan refugees housed at Wisconsin’s Fort McCoy being indicted for federal crimes including sexual assault on a minor and domestic assault.
Bahrullah Noori, a 20-year-old Afghan evacuee, is being charged with attempting to engage in a sexual act with a minor using force against that person, along with three other counts of engaging in a sex act with a minor, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. Additionally, 32-year-old Mohammad Haroon Imaad is being charged with assaulting his wife by choking and suffocating her on September 17.
Several Republican senators sent a letter to the president basically asking, “What the heck is going on here?”
“How many Afghan nationals are waiting on background checks at a transit site? How many Afghan nationals have been paroled into the United States?” the Republican senators asked. “What specific categories, classes, or criteria constitute the Administration’s definition of ‘vulnerable Afghans’? How many individuals who have been paroled into the United States fall under each category, class, or criteria?”
Earlier this month, an administration official denied that anyone “of concern” had made it past the administration’s award-winning vetting operation.
“No one has gotten into the United States or entered that is of concern,” the official said. “The administration is working with urgency and with care to enhance the screening and vetting operations to make them more efficient without compromising U.S. national security.”
But Republicans were crazy to worry about security and the safety of the American people?
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