A search and rescue operation is underway in southern Morocco after two U.S. service members were reported missing off the southern coast of the North African nation during annual training exercises.
CBS News reporters, embedded with the US military, were in their tents Saturday evening at 9 p.m. local time, when a base-wide head-count was conducted. Helicopters were heard throughout the night as the search was underway, and this morning the reporters observed various planes, helicopters and drones in the area around the coast.
The soldiers went missing in an accident which was unrelated to the training exercise. The names of the soldiers and further details have not yet been released.
Officials with U.S. Africa Command told a CBS News crew on the scene that recovery efforts are ongoing.
The training exercise, known as African Lion, is the largest annual joint military exercise led by AFRICOM, one of the U.S. Department of Defense’s 11 unified combatant commands. The exercise occurs in a vast desert where the Sahara Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean near the Cap Draa Training Area, outside the city of Tan Tan.
The exercise has ground to a halt, and all Moroccan and American resources have been directed towards search and rescue operations. Other countries participating in African Lion are also assisting, AFRICOM said in a statement.
The African Lion training exercise brings together thousands of troops from the United States, African partner nations, and NATO allies to train for modern warfare across land, air, sea, cyber, and space domains.
This year’s exercise involves more than 5,000 personnel from over 40 nations, with a growing focus on advanced technologies, including drones, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence.