Two U.S. service members participating in the African Lion 2026 military exercise have been reported missing near the Cap Draa Training Area in southwestern Morocco, and a full-scale search-and-rescue operation is now underway. U.S. Africa Command confirmed Sunday that the two Americans were reported missing on May 2 near the city of Tan Tan, close to the Atlantic coast. U.S. forces, Moroccan forces, and other partner nation assets from the exercise immediately launched a coordinated response involving ground, air, and maritime resources. AFRICOM has not identified the service members, their branch, or their unit. The command said the incident remains under investigation. Two U.S. service members participating in African Lion 2026 were reported missing near the Cap Draa Training Area, near the city of Tan Tan, Morocco, May 2, 2026.https://t.co/7zxpKQRHfB— U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) (@USAfricaCommand) May 3, 2026 U.S. Africa Command released a statement confirming the scope and details of the ongoing search: Two U.S. service members participating in African Lion 2026 were reported missing near the Cap Draa Training Area, near the city of Tan Tan, Morocco, on May 2, 2026. U.S., Moroccan, and other assets from African Lion immediately began coordinated search-and-rescue operations, including ground, air, and maritime assets. The incident remains under investigation and the search is ongoing. The command did not identify the missing service members by name, branch, or unit, and no recovery or casualty update had been released as of Sunday. African Lion 2026 is the command’s largest annual joint exercise, spanning Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, and involves more than 10,000 troops from over 40 nations. The exercise is designed to strengthen collective security capabilities among the United States, African partner nations, and global allies, with a focus on readiness and multinational cooperation across the region. No further details about what happened have been provided, and no recovery update has been announced as of Sunday afternoon. BREAKING: Two U.S. service members are missing in southwestern Morocco following an annual multinational military exercise, sparking an ongoing search-and-rescue effort by U.S. and allied forces, officials said Sunday.The war games exercise, known as African Lion, started in pic.twitter.com/cCOXjPr35t— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 3, 2026 The incident occurred around 9 p.m. Saturday near Cap Draa, a training area close to the Atlantic Ocean in a region where the terrain ranges from mountains to desert and semidesert plains. African Lion is the largest annual U.S. joint military exercise on the African continent and has been running since 2004. The Associated Press provided additional context on the exercise and the circumstances: The two U.S. service members went missing in southwestern Morocco after taking part in annual multinational military exercises. The incident happened Saturday around 9 p.m. near the Cap Draa Training Area near Tan Tan, close to the Atlantic Ocean, where the terrain includes mountains as well as desert and semidesert plains.African Lion began in April and runs across four countries, including Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal, and is scheduled to end in early May. The exercise includes active-duty members of different U.S. military branches, including the National Guard, Army Reserve, Air Force, and Marine Corps. More than 7,000 personnel from over 30 nations are participating across four host countries.In 2012, two U.S. Marines were killed and two others injured in a helicopter crash in Morocco’s southern city of Agadir while taking part in African Lion. There is very little public information about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance. Families may still be waiting for word, and no official update beyond the initial AFRICOM statement has been released. We will update this story as new information becomes available. Please keep these two service members and their families in your prayers.