US trains with African nations in large-scale exercise amid fight against regional terrorism

The U.S. Army is wrapping up its capstone series of exercises this week in Africa, where troops have fanned out for drills involving numerous partner nations grappling with expanding insurgencies at home.

African Lion 23, which concludes Friday, has involved 17 countries and more than 8,000 troops, who have been training across northern and western Africa for more than a month.

The effort comes as terrorist-attack numbers soar in places like the Sahel, which has emerged as a global epicenter for terror.

“Our partners are very concerned about the security situation,” said Col. Matthew Kopp, director of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa’s security cooperation directorate.

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