Two US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco | US military
Two US soldiers are missing in southwestern Morocco after participating in annual multinational military exercises in the North African country, United States Africa Command (Africom) said on Sunday.
The United States, Morocco and other countries participating in the African Lion exercise launched a search and rescue operation, Africom said.
In the statement, it was stated that “the incident is being investigated and searches continue.”
The incident occurred on May 2 near the Cap Draa training area near Tan Tan near the Atlantic Ocean. The war games exercise began in April and is being held in four countries, including Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal. It is planned to end in early May.
The Moroccan army said the soldiers got lost near a cliff.
“Initial reports indicate that two soldiers may have fallen into the ocean,” a US defense official told Reuters via email. “I can confirm that this incident is not related to terrorism.”
Conducted since 2004, African Lion is the largest annual joint U.S. military exercise on the continent and is usually conducted with the participation of senior military officials from the United States and its African allies.
U.S. military officials said the annual multinational engagement serves as a venue to strengthen regional security cooperation and improve the preparedness of participating forces for global crises.
Reuters contributed reporting
