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Join on Telegram Marrakech – Two US service members went missing on Saturday evening near ocean cliffs in southern Morocco. The incident occurred during the annual African Lion military exercise. A massive search and rescue operation is now underway.
The US Africa Command confirmed the disappearance on Sunday. The two soldiers were last seen near the Cap Draa Training Area, close to the city of Tan Tan, where the Sahara Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Moroccan Royal Armed Forces said they were reported missing at around 9 p.m. local time on May 2, near a cliff at Cap Draa.
Multiple US officials corroborated the same account to separate news agencies. “Initial reports indicate the two soldiers may have fallen into the ocean,” a US defense official told Reuters by email. “I can confirm this incident is not related to terrorism.”
A senior US military official, speaking under the condition of anonymity, echoed those details to Agence France-Presse (AFP), saying the incident “is not related to terrorism but appears to be an accident.”
The soldiers were not engaged in any training activity at the time. A US defense official told the Associated Press (AP), also on condition of anonymity, that they went missing while on a hike. “They were not actively taking part in any training. The day’s exercises had concluded, and, from our understanding, they were out on a recreational hike,” the official said.
No foul play is suspected to date, as authorities believe the incident was an accident. Sources told CBS News that the accident was not related to the training exercise itself.
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US, Moroccan, and other partner forces immediately launched coordinated search and rescue operations. The search team includes helicopters, ships, mountain rescue units, and divers, according to the defense official who spoke to the AP. Ground teams, aerial assets, and maritime elements from multiple participating nations are involved.
“The incident remains under investigation, and the search is ongoing,” AFRICOM said in a statement. “Our focus is on the service members involved and their families.”
The US military command for Africa indicated that an investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the disappearance. Both missing service members were validated to be US Army soldiers. Their names have not been released.
CBS News reporter Chris Livesay was embedded with the US military at the base when the incident unfolded. He described how a base-wide head count was conducted at 9 p.m. local time on Saturday evening. Helicopters were heard throughout the night as the search began. On Sunday morning, various planes, helicopters, and drones were observed operating around the coastal area.
Livesay reported from the scene that the base sits in the Sahara Desert, within walking distance of the ocean. “We just found out that it was likely related to a hiking accident, and they fell off a cliff into the ocean. This is what the US military is telling us,” he said.
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The African Lion exercise ground to a halt on Sunday. US and Moroccan assets were redirected from the training to the search and rescue operation, officials told the CBS News crew on the ground.
The terrain around Cap Draa is mountainous. It is a mix of desert and semi-desert plains that meet the Atlantic coast. The area presents a challenging environment for search and rescue teams.
African Lion 2026 is the 22nd edition of the exercise. It is the largest annual joint military exercise led by AFRICOM on the African continent. This year’s edition runs from April 20 to May 8 across four nations – Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia.
The largest portion of the drills takes place in Morocco. In total, more than 7,000 personnel from over 30 nations are participating across the four host countries. The exercise involves approximately 5,000 personnel in Morocco alone, drawn from over 40 countries, along with more than 30 US-based industry partners.
African Lion is designed to strengthen interoperability among US forces, NATO allies, and African partner nations. It focuses on all-domain operations, crisis response, and multinational coordination to enhance regional security. This year’s edition placed a special emphasis on advanced technologies, including drones, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence.
The exercise has been running since 2004. It usually features high-ranking military officials from the US and its top African allies. US military officials have described the annual engagement as a venue for strengthening regional security cooperation and refining the readiness of participating forces for global crises.
This is not the first time a fatal incident has occurred during African Lion. In 2012, two US Marines were killed and two others injured during a helicopter crash in Morocco’s southern city of Agadir while taking part in the same exercise.
Last year, two Israeli paratroopers from the Marom Brigade were injured in a car accident in Morocco while participating in the African Lion 2025 multinational military exercise.
Morocco remains a major ally of the United States in a region facing significant security challenges.
Since 2020, military officers in several West African nations, including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, have overthrown elected governments and distanced themselves from Western powers.
Morocco’s partnership with Washington on exercises like African Lion shows its role as a key security partner on the continent. This year’s edition drew high-level US attention. US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll met with Morocco’s Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces, Mohammed Berrid, at the Southern Zone Headquarters on the sidelines of the exercise.
Separately, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Ambassador Duke Buchan visited the 6th Royal Moroccan Air Force Base and the 2nd Airborne Infantry Brigade in Benguerir, where they met with Moroccan and American personnel participating in African Lion training activities.
In mid-April, the two Atlantic shores signed a new ten-year military cooperation agreement, further solidifying their defense partnership.
The search for the two missing soldiers continues.
