Two U.S. service members are missing in southwestern Morocco following an annual multinational military exercise, sparking an ongoing search-and-rescue effort by U.S. and allied forces, officials said Sunday.
The incident happened on Saturday at the Cap Draa Training Area near Tan Tan, a Moroccan city about 15 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) said.
“The incident remains under investigation and the search is on-going,” it said in a statement, adding that the rescue operation includes ground, air and maritime assets.
A defense official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the incident is not terror-related.
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The defense official said that the two missing service members are Army soldiers who were last seen near ocean cliffs near the Cap Draa Training Area during scheduled training. The soldiers may have fallen into the ocean, according to initial reports.
U.S. and Moroccan forces immediately launched a joint search and rescue operation when the soldiers did not return as expected, the defense official said.
The war games exercise, known as African Lion, started in April and runs across four countries, including Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal. It is scheduled to end in early May.
The exercise began in Tunisia with active-duty members of different branches of the U.S. military, including the National Guard, Army Reserve, Air Force, and the Marine Corps. More than 7,000 personnel from more than 30 nations are participating across the four host countries.
African Lion is the U.S. military’s largest annual exercise in Africa, bringing together senior commanders from the United States and key regional allies. It was originally launched in 2004.
U.S. officials say the multinational drills are designed to strengthen security partnerships and sharpen troop readiness for potential global crises.
Morocco is a major ally of the United States in a troubled region. Since 2020, military officers disillusioned with their governments’ records of stemming violence have overthrown democratically elected governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and began distancing themselves from Western powers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
