In this Tuesday Feb. 18, 2020, photo, Burkina Faso paratroopers commando exercise under the supervision of Dutch special forces during U.S. military-led annual counterterrorism exercise in Thies, Senegal.
More than 1,500 service members from the armies of 34 African and partner training nations have assembled for the Flintlock exercises in Senegal and Mauritania, the two countries in West Africa’s sprawling Sahel region that so far have not been hit by violence from extremists linked to al-Qaida or the Islamic State group.
