President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would tell a gathering of US generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia, that they were cherished leaders who needed to be strong and tough.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned senior US military leaders from around the world for a meeting in Quantico on Tuesday — a rare gathering of the country’s military leadership in one location.

“I want to tell the generals that we love them, they’re cherished leaders, to be strong, be tough and be smart and be compassionate,” Trump told Reuters in an interview.

“That’s all that is, esprit de corps. It’s about time somebody did that,” he added.

Trump’s attendance could overshadow Hegseth, who was expected to discuss the need to adhere to a “warrior ethos” throughout the military and could touch on other areas.

The US has troops around the world, including in distant locations like South Korea, Japan and across the Middle East, which are commanded by two-, three- and four-star generals and admirals.

In almost every public speech he gives, Hegseth talks about the “warrior ethos” and the need for the US military to have a warrior mentality.

Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” reverting to a title it held until after World War Two when officials sought to emphasise the Pentagon’s role in preventing conflict.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has moved with stunning speed to reshape the department, firing top generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Trump’s national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he calls discriminatory.

Officials have told Reuters that the event is expected to take place at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia.

Some of the senior-most officials, who are provided US military aircraft for official travel, are expected to fly into Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

It is unclear why the gathering could not have taken place virtually, and it will likely cost at least millions of dollars to transport and protect the large gathering.

• Shooter drove vehicle into church, fired assault-style weapon.
• Suspect died in gunfire exchange with police officers.
• Authorities expect more victims in church ruins.

At least two people were killed and several others injured Sunday after a shooter targeted a Mormon church in Michigan, authorities said, in the latest deadly tragedy that US President Donald Trump called part of a national “epidemic of violence.”

The suspect, a 40-year-old man from a nearby town in the northern US state, was shot dead by law enforcement responding to the attack, in which the church was also set ablaze, police said, without specifying any possible motive.

Trump called the shooting “horrendous” and said on his Truth Social platform, it “appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America.”

Images from the scene showed emergency services escorting people on stretchers and a large plume of dark smoke at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, about 60 miles (97 kilometres) east of the capital Lansing.

Debbie Horkey, who lives near the church, told AFP: “My husband heard people screaming, one lady yelling for help.”

Local police chief William Renye said the suspect drove his vehicle into the church and then began firing at people inside with an assault rifle.

He told reporters the service was active with “hundreds of people within the church.”

Authorities believe the gunman also deliberately set fire to the church before he was killed by responding police officers, Renye said.

Ten gunshot victims were transported to the hospital, the official said, of whom two have died.

He added that the fire had been extinguished but that “we do believe that we will find additional victims once we have that scene secure.”

‘Epidemic of violence’

FBI agents are on the scene to assist the investigation, director Kash Patel said on X.

“Violence in a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act. Our prayers are with the victims and their families during this tragedy,” he wrote.

Attorney General Pam Bondi also said she had been briefed on the incident.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Sunday´s attack a “tragic act of violence.”

“Places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of peacemaking, prayer and connection. We pray for peace and healing for all involved,” it wrote on X.

The United States, where firearms are readily available, has a long history of gun violence.

But tensions have soared in recent weeks after a series of high-profile attacks, including the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah and a deadly shooting at a federal immigration facility in Texas.

Sunday’s attack also comes a month after a mass shooting at a Catholic church and school in Minnesota, in which two children were killed while attending Mass, and several others were severely injured.

Political divisions have grown even deeper in the wake of the attacks, with Trump launching a campaign to target left-wing groups he accuses of being “domestic terrorists.”

In his Truth Social post Sunday, Trump wrote: “THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a staunch Republican and Trump ally, said he had ordered the formation of task forces to work with law enforcement to better protect places of worship in his state after the Michigan shooting.

“The fundamental principle that thou shalt not kill must be strongly reaffirmed as a core tenet of our society and must be aggressively enforced by law enforcement,” he wrote on X.

• Amir Amiri handed over to US special envoy Adam Boehler.
• Afghan govt wants to resolve issues through diplomacy: Foreign Ministry.
• Amiri’s release comes after a week of an elderly British couple being freed.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced the release of a detained American citizen on Sunday, a week after an elderly British couple were also released by the authorities.

In a statement, the ministry identified the detainee as Amir Amiri and said he had been handed over to Adam Boehler, Washington’s special envoy on hostages.

Boehler made a rare visit to Kabul earlier this month to discuss the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the Taliban government.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan released an American citizen named Amir Amiri from prison today,” the Afghanistan’s defense ministry said on X.

“The Afghan government does not view the issues of citizens from a political angle and makes it clear that ways can be found to resolve issues through diplomacy.”

Little is known about Amiri’s case, as it has not been widely reported.

Britons Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, were released from a Kabul prison on September 20 after almost eight months in detention.

Qatar helped to mediate both releases, according to the Taliban government.