Published On 11/5/2026
The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces announced – yesterday evening, Sunday – that the body of one of the two American soldiers who went missing at the beginning of this month was found during an exercise within the 22nd session of the “African Lion 2026” maneuvers.
The Moroccan Armed Forces said – in a statement published on the “X” platform – that intensive search operations – in joint coordination with the American forces – resulted – last Saturday – in the recovery of one of the two missing American soldiers.
The soldier was found on a rocky slope in the Cap Draa area in the Tan-Tan province in southern Morocco, according to the statement. Search operations for the second missing soldier are still continuing.
Search operations began since the incident of the loss of the two American soldiers, which occurred on May 2 while they were carrying out training missions in the rugged rocky area of Tan-Tan province in southern Morocco, was reported.
It is noteworthy that the “African Lion 2026” exercises began on April 27. More than 5,000 members of the armed forces participated in these military exercises, with the participation of 41 countries, including the United States.
The “African Lion” exercises – the first edition of which was launched in 2007 – are among the largest joint military exercises organized by the US Africa Command on the continent level, and are conducted annually in Morocco with the aim of developing field coordination between US forces and their partners from allied countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in addition to a number of allied countries in Africa.
