The soldiers were in the country to take part in African Lion 2026, an annual joint military exercise.

According to the US Africa Command (Africom), a coordinated search and rescue operation involving ground, air and maritime assets was launched immediately after the incident was reported.

“U.S., Moroccan and other assets from African Lion immediately initiated coordinated search and rescue operations, including ground, air, and maritime assets,” Africom said in a post on Facebook.

According to Africom, the incident occurred on May 2.

Officials told BBC they were last seen on Saturday near ocean cliffs in the vicinity of the Cap Draa Training Area, which is close to the city of Tan Tan in Morocco.

Africom stated that the incident is currently under investigation and the search operation is ongoing.

“Our focus is on the service members involved and their families,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, a US official told the BBC that early indications suggest the incident may have been accidental and is not believed to involve terrorism or kidnapping.

What is African Lion 2026?

According to the US Army Europe and Africa website, African Lion is US Africa Command’s largest annual joint military exercise. It is designed to strengthen interoperability between US forces, NATO allies, and African partner nations. Hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia, the exercise focuses on joint all-domain operations, crisis response, and enhancing multinational coordination.