Updated on: May 3, 2026 / 9:06 PM EDT / CBS News
A search-and-rescue operation is underway in southern Morocco after two U.S. service members were reported missing off the country’s southern coast during annual training exercises. A defense official told CBS News the soldiers were last seen near ocean cliffs by the Cap Draa Training Area and initial reports indicate they may have fallen into the ocean. Sources said it is believed to have been a hiking accident and no foul play is suspected; the incident was not related to the exercise.
Defense officials confirmed both missing service members are U.S. Army soldiers. Their names and further details have not been released.
Ground teams, aircraft and maritime units from the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces and other African Lion participants are involved in the search, the defense official said. African Lion — the largest annual joint exercise led by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) — was paused Sunday as U.S. and Moroccan assets were redirected to the search-and-rescue effort, CBS News reporters embedded with the military said.
Reporters on site said a basewide head count occurred around 9 p.m. Saturday local time, helicopters were heard through the night, and on Sunday they observed multiple planes, helicopters and drones along the coast.
African Lion brings together thousands of personnel from the United States, African partner nations and NATO allies to train across land, air, sea, cyber and space domains. This year’s exercise involves more than 7,000 personnel from over 30 nations and includes a growing focus on advanced technologies such as drones, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, according to the Associated Press.
The exercise takes place in a vast desert region where the Sahara meets the Atlantic near the Cap Draa Training Area outside Tan Tan. In 2012, two U.S. Marines were killed in a helicopter crash during African Lion and two others were injured, the Associated Press reported.