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.
Officials with U.S. Africa Command told a CBS News crew on the scene that recovery efforts are ongoing where the Sahara Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean near the Cap Draa Training Area, outside the city of Tan Tan. The U.S., Morocco and other countries participating in the African Lion exercise has a search and rescue operation, AFRICOM said in a statement.
The names of the soldiers and details surrounding the incident have not yet been released.
The area where the search is taking place is part of a vast desert training ground used for large-scale military training, where annual exercises are currently unfolding.
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.
Known as African Lion, the surrounding event 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 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.
In Morocco, troops are participating in a series of coordinated training scenarios that simulate modern combat conditions. These include so-called “defense in depth” operations, where layered technologies—from sensors and surveillance drones to counter-drone systems and long-range fires—are used to detect, track, and defeat enemy forces.
