Two Yemeni military officers in the United States for training went missing in spring 2014, leaked documents reveal.
Yemeni Army Warrant Officer Ali Mohsen Al-Esaei and Yemeni Navy Captain Mansoor Saleh Mohammed Al-Ansy were both reported absent without leave (AWOL) in letters sent to the Yemeni Ministry of Defense in May 2014 by the U.S. defense attaché in Yemen. The letters were released in a batch of WikiLeaks documents called the Yemen Files.
A Department of Defense spokesman told The Daily Caller the two men were located and for further information to contact the Department of Homeland Security. A DHS spokeswoman would only confirm that the men were apprehended. The U.S. embassy in Yemen was not able to be reached for comment.
The U.S. has been supporting the Yemeni government in their fight against Iranian-backed rebels. It was reported in 2011 that the U.S. would expand counterterrorism training for the Yemeni military.
Al-Ansy was in the United States for both English language training and maritime counterterrorism training. A DOD spokesman said he went AWOL a day after his training ended. Al-Esaei was in the United States attending an information technology specialist course and was reported missing days before his training was scheduled to end.
Reuters recently reported that in the past two years 44 Afghan troops in the United States for training have gone missing.