An official of the US Department of Defense announced that US Navy ships and planes combed the Gulf of Aden area in search of two members of the elite Navy SEALs who disappeared while trying to board an Iranian ship allegedly carrying ballistic missiles.
Officials said the mission was unrelated to Operation Prosperity Guardian, an ongoing US and international mission to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea, or the retaliation strikes carried out by the US and UK in Yemen over the past two days.
The official said the crew aboard the dhow, which was not flying a country’s flag, planned to transfer missile parts, including warheads and engines, to another ship near the coast of Somalia.
The Navy has identified the ship as having a history of transporting illegal weapons from Iran to Somalia, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that were not released.
The special forces were aboard the USS Lewis B Puller, a naval expeditionary ship at sea, and traveled in small special operations combat aircraft flown by a Navy special warfare crew to reach the ship. While they were boarding in rough seas, around 20:00 local time, one special officer was knocked down by high waves, and his teammate entered the sea after him. Both are gone.
The team that boarded the small ship was confronted by a dozen crew members. The crew members, who were taken into custody, did not have paperwork, which made it possible to search the ship. The weapons were seized and the ship sunk, a routine procedure that usually involved making holes in the hull.
U.S. officials said the waters in the Gulf of Aden are warm and that Navy SEALs are trained for such emergencies. Navy ships, helicopters and drones were involved in the ongoing search on Monday.
The US Navy conducts regular blockade missions in the region, also intercepting weapons on ships en route to Yemen’s Houthis, Klix.ba writes.
