Missing Afghan Army soldiers found by Canadian Border Services Agents

BOSTON, Mass -- Three Afghan National Army soldiers who were in Massachusetts for training and went missing have been located and are in the custody of the Canada Border Services Agency, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told CNN on Monday.

The soldiers had last been seen on a trip to a mall on Saturday.


Also this month, two Afghan police officers training with the Drug Enforcement Administration went missing for six days.

Mohd Naweed Samimi, 24, and Mohammad Yasin Ataye, 22, went missing on September 13 while training in Quantico, Virginia. They were found on September 18 in Buffalo, New York, DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said.

The men, who Payne said were monitored by escorts at all times, never posed any threat or danger. They decided they wanted to stay in the United States, but authorities found them and sent them home.

The three men who were missing briefly in Massachusetts are Afghan National Army Soldiers Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, Capt. Mohammad Nasir Askarzada and Capt. Noorullah Aminyar.

They arrived in the United States on September 11 for Exercise Regional Cooperation, an annual event, the Guard said, and were quartered at Joint Base Cape Cod. Base security reported the three missing late Saturday. They had last been seen at Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis.

"Base and exercise officials are working with local police and state authorities to locate the three Afghans," the Guard said.

The purpose of the exercise is to train participating nations in "stability operations" and "operations conducted during United Nations mandated peacekeeping operations," according to the Guard.

Roughly a dozen Afghan soldiers are still participating.

The Regional Cooperation exercise has taken place annually since 2004, according to the Massachusetts National Guard. Tajikistan is the lead nation for it this year. The last exercise was held in 2013, led by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defense.

Gen. Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, told CNN that the ministry is investigating both incidents.




CNN's Dave Alsup and Mary Kay Mallonee contributed to this report.