(AP) - Military officials say the two marine corps helicopters that crashed off the coast of Africa during a training mission were carrying a dozen crew and troops from a counterterrorism unit based in North Carolina.

A 33-year-old Louisiana marine, First Lieutenant Brandon R. Dronet of Erath, is among the ten service members who died in the crash. The choppers and eight marines were from a squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station New River.

The combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, set up in Djibouti in 2002, is responsible for fighting terrorism in nine countries in the region. U.S. officials say the region, with its sizable Muslim population, has been used by terrorists as a place to hide, recruit operatives and stage attacks.

Two Air Force airmen killed were from bases in Washington State and Virginia. The remains of the ten service members are being flown to the United States.