Two US Navy Seals who went missing in the Gulf of Aden earlier this month during a raid on a ship carrying Iranian weapons were not found after an exhaustive search and their status was changed to dead, the military said on Sunday (21 January).
US military personnel were reported missing after boarding a ship during an 11 January operation off the coast of Somalia, US Central Command said on Sunday (21 January). Centcom Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement:
We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honour their sacrifice and example. Our prayers are with the Seals’ families, friends, the US Navy, and the entire Special Operations community during this time.
Joint forces from the US, Spain and Japan have explored more than 21,000 square miles of ocean in search of the missing harbour seals, Centcom said in a statement.
In November, the Houthis began striking ships in the Red Sea that they claimed were linked to Israel. They said the strikes were in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israeli troops are fighting a war with Hamas.
The US and Britain struck dozens of Houthi rebel targets earlier this month, and U.S. forces have since shot down several missiles that Washington said were ready to launch and posed a threat to both civilian and military vessels.
The Houthis, who have declared American and British interests as legitimate targets, continue to attack ships.
About 12 per cent of world trade normally passes through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea between southwestern Yemen and Djibouti, but rebel attacks have diverted much of it thousands of miles around Africa.
