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Afghan soldiers go missing from Cape Cod conference

Afghan soldiers participating in an annual training conference in Massachusetts disappeared Saturday.

By Gabrielle Levy
Afghan soldiers. UPI/Hossein Fatemi
Afghan soldiers. UPI/Hossein Fatemi | License Photo

HYANNIS, Mass., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Three soldiers from the Afghan National Army participating in a training exercise on Cape Cod are missing after a shopping trip.

Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, Capt. Mohammad Nasir Askarzada and Capt. Noorullah Aminyar disappeared after a shopping trip to the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis Saturday evening, according to Massachusetts National Guard spokesman Col. James Sahady.

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"I am told they pose no immediate threat," Sahady said. "They are all senior-ranked soldiers that were allowed to come here."

It's unclear if the soldiers had permission to leave or whether they had permission to do so.

The three officers flew to the U.S. to participate in a regional cooperation conference at Camp Edwards in Sandwich on Sept. 11.

Representatives from Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Pakistan participated in this year's annual exercise, designed to improve relationships between the U.S. and Central and South Asian nations and participate in mock U.N. peacekeeping exercises.

The conference, first held in 2004, runs until Wednesday.

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