WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing after conducting a nighttime boarding mission off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, according to three U.S. officials.
The SEALs were on an interdiction mission and were climbing onto a ship when one of them was overturned by high waves. According to their protocol, if a SEAL is overtaken, the next one jumps in.
Both SEALs are still missing. A search and rescue mission was underway and the waters in the Gulf of Aden, where they were operating, were warm, two of the U.S. officials said.
The U.S. Navy conducted regular interception missions, intercepting weapons on ships heading to Houthi-controlled Yemen.
The mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the ongoing U.S. and international mission to protect merchant ships in the Red Sea, or the retaliatory strikes that the United States and the United Kingdom have carried out in Yemen over the past two days, it said the official on Saturday. It was also not related to Iran's seizure of the St. Nikolas oil tanker, a third U.S. official said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been released.
In addition to defending ships from downed drones and missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, the U.S. military also came to the aid of merchant ships that were victims of piracy.
In a statement Saturday, U.S. Central Command said search and rescue operations to locate the two sailors were underway. The command said it would not release further information about the incident Thursday evening until the personnel recovery mission was completed.
The Sailors deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting a variety of missions.