3 Afghan Army Officers In US Immigration Custody

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Three Afghanistan National Army officers who vanished during training in Massachusetts were placed in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday after being detained on the Canadian border, authorities said.

The agency said the officers faced removal proceedings after being charged with administrative immigration violations. A spokesman for the agency said he could not provide more details on the charges.

Military officials said the men had been participating along with officers from Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia in a U.S. Central Command Regional Cooperation training exercise at Joint Base Cape Cod. They were reported missing Saturday after leaving Camp Edwards on an off day to visit a shopping mall.

Richard Halpern, the owner of Zachary's Pub, a gentleman's club in Mashpee, says he believes the soldiers were there on Friday night.

Dancers and other workers at the club say the soldiers were among a group of eight people. He says they left at around 1 a.m. after having been at the club for a couple of hours. Halpern says the base also called the club on Saturday night to ask if the soldiers were there.

The Afghan soldiers, identified as Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, Capt. Mohammad Nasir Askarzada and Capt. Noorullah Aminyar, had been detained by the Canadian Border Security Agency on Monday as they tried to enter Canada on the Rainbow Bridge, which connects New York and Ontario at Niagara Falls.

U.S. authorities have stressed that they do not believe the men posed any danger to the public.

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