Overview
- Two U.S. Army soldiers were reported missing Saturday night, May 2, near the Cap Draa Training Area by Tan-Tan after a headcount found them unaccounted for.
- AFRICOM and Moroccan forces are using helicopters, drones, naval vessels, ground teams, mountaineers and divers to search the Atlantic coastline and rugged cliffs.
- U.S. defense officials say there is no indication of terrorism, and initial assessments suggest the soldiers may have fallen into the ocean while hiking off-duty.
- Identities are being withheld pending next-of-kin notification, and training at the Moroccan site was paused or assets were reassigned to support the search.
- African Lion is AFRICOM’s largest annual exercise with several thousand personnel across Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal, enabling a rapid multinational response with air, sea and ground resources.