3 Afghan Soldiers Missing From Cape Cod Base
Three Afghan soldiers participating in a military exercise at a base in Cape Cod, Massachusetts have been reported missing since Saturday night, authorities say.
The three soldiers, all a part of the Afghanistan National Army, had been visiting Joint Base Cape Cod to participate in an event that simulated scenarios involving civilians and soldiers in an attempt to find solutions involving racial tensions and community uprisings.
The three soldiers, who were allowed to leave the base when they were off duty, were last seen at the local Cape Cod mall on Saturday evening, and their whereabouts remain unknown. Their names are Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, Capt. Mohammad Nasir Askarzada, and Capt. Noorullah Aminyar.
"They had the freedom to come and go," Massachusetts National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. James Sahady told Cape Cod Online. "If they were off-duty, they could go to McDonald's or the mall."
A source with the FBI told NBC news that the national agency is taking the matter very seriously, adding that the three soldiers had been vetted very carefully before being allowed to enter the United States.
A National Guard press release says the purpose of the "Regional Cooperation 2014" group event at Joint Base Cape Cod's Camp Edwards is "to increase participating nation's capabilities to conduct Stability Operations within internal borders and execute the range of operations conducted during United Nations mandated peacekeeping operations."
An unidentified spokesman with the U.S. Central Command told the Cape Cod Times that the men were allowed to participate in the program, which has happened annually since 2004, "to introduce them to cultural aspects of American life." The men arrived in the country on September 11.
