Two US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco

Two US service members are missing in the Southwest Morocco After participating in annual multinational military exercises in the North African country, the United States Africa Command (Africom) said on Sunday.

the usa, Morocco and other countries participating in the African Lion exercise launched a search and rescue operation, Africom said.

“The incident is still under investigation and the search continues,” it said in a statement.

The incident happened on May 2 near the Cap Draa training area near Tan Tan, near the Atlantic Ocean. The war games exercise began in April and spans four countries, including Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal. It is scheduled to end in early May.

The Moroccan military said the service members went missing near a cliff.

“Initial reports indicate that the two soldiers may have fallen into the sea,” a US defense official told Reuters by email. “I can confirm that this incident is not related to terrorism.”

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

US military officials said the annual multinational engagement serves as a venue to strengthen regional security cooperation and refine the readiness of participating forces for global crises.

Reuters contributed reporting