Three Afghan Soldiers Missing From Joint Base Cape Cod

Federal military officials along with state and local police are searching for three Afghanistan National Army soldiers who went missing Saturday night from a regional cooperation training exercise at Camp Edwards in Sandwich.

According to Massachusetts National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. James Sahady, the three men were senior military officers from Afghanistan and were cleared by the US State Department to participate in the exercise. The three men have been identified as Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, Capt. Mohammad Nasir Askarzada and Capt. Noorullah Aminyar.

There are 200 people from six nations participating in the exercise, including 15 officers and senior enlisted personnel from Afghanistan, said Sahady. The two-week annual exercise, sponsored this year by US Central Command, is designed to strengthen relationships between the US participating nations. The soldiers arrived at Joint Base Cape Cod on Sept. 11.

“Not all 200 people are locked down on base,” Sahady told Boston.com. At some points during their stay, participants are cleared to leave for dinner or to participate in activities off base without restrictions, he said.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police declined to comment on the search and referred inquiries to the US Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The three men were last seen Saturday while out at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis. It is unclear whether they were accompanied by Massachusetts National Guard soldiers while they were off base.

This is not the first reported case of Afghan nationals who have gone missing while undergoing a training program in the US. Two Afghan policemen who were in taking part in an intensive DEA training program in Quantico, Va., went missing while on a sightseeing trip last Thursday. They were found in Buffalo, NY, on Friday.