2 US Marines killed, 2 injured in Morocco

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Two U.S. Marines were killed and two severely injured in the crash of a hybrid aircraft, known as an MV-22 Osprey, in Morocco on Wednesday, officials said.

The Osprey crashed in a military training area southwest of Agadir, Morocco, after taking off from aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, said Capt. Kevin Schultz, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon in Washington.

Schultz said the Osprey, which takes off and lands like a helicopter and flies like an airplane, was participating in a U.S.-Moroccan military exercise called "African Lion."

A U.S. defense official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is in the early stages of investigation, said the two severely injured Marines were being transported to a medical facility for treatment.

Rodney Ford, the spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in the north African nation, confirmed the accident and the casualties. He said further information about the accident was being withheld until the next of kin have been notified.

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AP correspondent Lolita Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.