Urgent Search Underway: Two US Service Members Missing After African Lion Exercises in Morocco

RABAT, Morocco — Two U.S. military personnel have gone missing in southwestern Morocco following their involvement in a regularly held multinational military exercise, according to a statement from the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) released on Sunday.

In response, the U.S., along with Morocco and other nations partaking in the African Lion exercise, have commenced a coordinated search and rescue mission, AFRICOM reported.

“The incident is currently under investigation and the search continues,” AFRICOM confirmed in their announcement.

The disappearance occurred on Saturday around 9 p.m., as reported by the Moroccan military. The incident site is near the Cap Draa Training Area in proximity to Tan Tan, along the Atlantic coastline, characterized by its rugged, mountainous landscape mixed with desert and semidesert plains.

This military exercise, which began in April, spans four countries, including Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal, and is set to conclude in early May.

AFRICOM has yet to disclose which specific unit or military branch the missing personnel are affiliated with. The Associated Press has reached out for further details.

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.

In all, over 7,000 personnel from more than 30 nations are participating across the four host countries.

African Lion, which has been running since 2004, is the largest U.S. annual joint military exercise on the continent and usually features high-ranking military officials from the U.S. and its top African allies.

U.S. military officials have said the annual multinational engagement serves as a venue for strengthening regional security cooperation and refining the readiness of participating forces for global crises.

In 2012, two U.S. Marines were killed and two others injured during a helicopter crash in Morocco’s southern city of Agadir while taking part in African Lion.

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.