RABAT, May 3 (Reuters) – Two U.S. service members participating in the African Lion joint military exercises were reported missing near the city of Tan Tan in southern Morocco, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces said on Sunday.
U.S., Moroccan and other partner forces launched coordinated search-and-rescue operations, including ground, air and maritime assets, to find the service members, who went missing near the training site of Cap Draa, the two militaries said in separate statements.
The Moroccan army said the service members went missing near a cliff.
“Initial reports indicate the two soldiers may have fallen into the ocean,” a U.S. defense official told Reuters by email. “I can confirm this incident is not related to terrorism.”
African Lion is the U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual joint exercise, aimed at improving interoperability among U.S. forces, NATO Allies and African partner nations.
This year’s edition runs from April 27 to May 8 across the four nations of Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.
The largest part of the drills takes place in Morocco involving approximately 5,000 personnel from over 40 countries, according to AFRICOM.
(Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi in Rabat and Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Graff and David Holmes)
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