OSLO, Nov 11: Norway's defence ministry said on Saturday three Iraqi military officers had gone missing while attending a Nato training course in the Scandinavian country.

“The three officers didn't show up for their first lesson. The police have been looking for them ever since,” Norwegian defence ministry spokeswoman Heidi Langvik-Hansen said. The three were part of a group of 25 Iraqi military and police personnel attending a week-long Nato course on international law.

The group arrived in Norway on Nov 4 and were believed to have had visas that were valid for the duration of the course. The remainder of the group returned to Iraq on Friday.

“We do not believe the Iraqi officers have committed any criminal offence,” Oslo police spokesman Kjell Arne Foss told Norwegian daily Dagsavisen.

A national and Shengen area-wide search had been launched for the three.—AFP