WASHINGTON: Three Afghan army officers have gone missing during a training exercise at a US military base in Massachusetts, prompting a search by local authorities, the Pentagon said yesterday.
The reason for their disappearance remained unclear but the three soldiers from the Afghan National Army (ANA) were last seen at a mall in Hyannis, where they were on an outing with fellow Afghan troops, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters.
It was the second time in a week that Afghan soldiers attending a course in the United States went missing.
A week ago, two Afghan soldiers training at the Quantico base in Virginia were unaccounted for until they were located two days later in the Georgetown district of Washington DC, officials said. The three ANA officers who disappeared on Saturday were taking part in “Exercise Regional Cooperation 2014,” a drill sponsored by US Central Command (Centcom).
The exercise, which involves officers from six countries, was scheduled to run from September 17 to September 24. The course is conducted indoors as a “table top” drill that requires officers to rehearse how they would respond to various simulated scenarios.
“Three ANA soldiers participating in a Centcom exercise this week at Joint Base Cape Cod were reported missing by base security personnel late Saturday,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said. “They were out touring the Cape Cod area.”
But he added: “There is no indication that they pose any threat to the public.” Before being allowed to attend the training, the Afghans were thoroughly vetted by government agencies, including the US embassy in Kabul and American forces in Afghanistan, according to Warren. Nato’s US-led force in Afghanistan has had to beef up security in recent years after a series of insider attacks, with Afghan soldiers turning their guns on their US and Nato partners.
The three officers who went missing Saturday were part of a group of 14 Afghans attending the training. The circumstances of their disappearance remained uncertain. Warren said foreign officers taking part in such exercises are permitted to leave the base but usually have US officers escort them.
AFP
