(CNN) The commander and the senior enlisted adviser of a US Navy SEAL Team deployed to Africa have been relieved of their duties and sent home due to sexual misconduct allegations regarding multiple fellow US military female service members, a US defense official tells CNN.

"Special Operations Command Africa commander Maj. Gen. Mark Hicks suspended the Special Operations Command Forward - East Africa commander and senior enlisted adviser of their duties on May 10 due to allegations of misconduct," Maj. Casey Osborne, a spokesman for Special Operations Command Africa, told CNN.

"Gen. Hicks directed both individuals to return to their home station for further adjudication regarding the allegations," Osborne added, while not specifying the nature of the allegations.

Many of the Navy SEALs in East Africa conduct operations in Somalia, where they advise Somali forces battling al-Shabaab, the local affiliate of al Qaeda.

The two Navy SEALs are being investigated by the Navy's Criminal Investigative Service.

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