A Canadian Border Services Agency officer directs traffic to customs during a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the redevelopment of the Peace Bridge Plaza in Fort Erie, Ontario on Monday morning, July 16, 2007. (Photo: Derek Gee / The Buffalo News)
DEVELOPING: The three missing Afghan soldiers who disappeared from a Cape Cod military base have been found at the Canadian border near Niagara Falls, a senior Pentagon official told Fox News. The three high0-ranking soldiers where in country taking part in this year’s training exercise, which involves more than 200 participants from six nations.
Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, 48, Capt. Mohammad Nasir Askarzada, 18, and Capt. Noorullah Aminyar, 20, were identified and reported missing by the Massachusetts National Guard Saturday night at Joint Base Cape Cod. The exercises were scheduled to end on Wednesday, and roughly a dozen Afghan soldiers are still taking part in the exercise.
“They have been found,” the official said, stating the men were found near Rainbow Bridge Monday, which encompasses territory from New York and Ontario. However, no other details were immediately available and a Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment further when requested by PPD.
Pentagon officials had previously told Fox News that they did not believe the missing soldiers posed a threat to U.S. security. Col. George Harrington, the battle group commander for the exercise, told the Cape Cod Times that the Afghan soldiers disappeared on a pass day, which is an opportunity for the training soldiers to visit Cape Cod beaches and be treated to a traditional lobster boil back on the base.
Meanwhile, U.S. military officials told The Associated Press that the men arrived at Camp Edwards on Sept. 11, of all days, and were last seen during a day off at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis.
Massachusetts National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. James Sahady told the Cape Cod Times that the men “had the freedom to come and go.”
Officials involved with the base and specifically assigned to the exercise had been were working with local law enforcement agencies and state authorities to find the missing Afghan soldiers.
The exercises have been held annually since 2004 and fall under U.S. Central Command Regional Cooperation. They are intended to promote cooperation and interoperability among and between participating nations’ forces, and also to build operational capacity, enhance military readiness, while practicing peacekeeping operations.
This year marked the first time the exercises were conducted in the U.S. since 2006. Typically, according to the Cape Cod Times, these particular exercises are held in South Asia.
“This is a valuable opportunity for the Massachusetts National Guard and is personally rewarding,” Harrington told the newspaper.
