A seek for two U.S. Navy SEALs who went lacking at sea off the coast of Somalia earlier this month has been referred to as off, U.S. Central Command stated Sunday.
The SEALs had been on a mission chasing shipments of Iranian-made weapons sure for Houthi rebels in Yemen. A U.S. official beforehand confirmed to Fox Information Digital that the SEALs had been making an attempt to board a ship they suspected was falsely flagged that might be smuggling weapons.
The 2 particular forces operators had been climbing on a ladder aboard a vessel whereas on a mission within the Gulf of Aden when excessive waves knocked one into the ocean. The second SEAL jumped in after the primary as a part of Navy SEAL protocol to assist a associate in misery and each vanished.
“We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALS have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased,” U.S. CENTCOM stated in an announcement, including that it’s now conducting restoration operations.
This undated {photograph} launched by the U.S. navy’s Central Command reveals what’s described because the vessel that carried Iranian-made missile elements sure for Yemen’s Houthi within the Arabian Sea. (U.S. Central Command)
Airborne and naval platforms from the U.S., Japan, and Spain repeatedly searched greater than 21,000 sq. miles for the lacking SEALs.
Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Heart, the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Space Command, College of San Diego – Scripts Institute of Oceanography, and the Workplace of Naval Analysis – Oceanographic assist additionally assisted within the search, CENTCOM stated.
This undated {photograph} launched by the U.S. navy’s Central Command reveals what’s described as Iranian-made missile elements sure for Yemen’s Houthi seized off a vessel within the Arabian Sea. (U.S. Central Command)
“We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honor their sacrifice and example,” Normal Michaele Erik Kurilla stated in an announcement. “Our prayers are with the SEALs’ families, friends, the U.S. Navy, and the entire Special Operations community during this time.”
The names of the SEALs haven’t been launched as household notifications proceed.
The SEALs’ Jan. 11 raid marked the most recent seizure by the U.S. Navy and its allies of weapon shipments sure for the rebels, who’ve launched a sequence of assaults now threatening international commerce within the Crimson Sea and Gulf of Aden over Israel’s warfare on Hamas within the Gaza Strip. The seized missile elements included varieties possible utilized in these assaults.
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The U.S. Navy finally sunk the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe, Central Command stated. The ship’s 14 crew had been detained.
Fox Information Digital’s Danielle Wallace and The Related Press contributed to this report.
