Navy SEALs missing off coast of Somalia were chasing Iran-made weapons bound for Yemen

Two U.S. Navy SEALs who went missing off the coast of Somalia were on a mission to track Iranian weapons being shipped to Yemen, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.

U.S. officials said the SEALs were attempting to board a false flag ship that may have been smuggling weapons, but it was unclear whether any weapons were found. The revelation came amid reports that the SEAL went missing after conducting a night interdiction mission off the coast of Somalia on Thursday.

Two special forces members were climbing a ship's ladder during a mission in the Gulf of Aden when high waves caused one to fall into the sea.

The second SEAL, as part of Navy SEAL protocol, follows the first SEAL and dives in to help their partner in distress. both disappearedreported the Associated Press.

Both men are still missing and search and rescue operations continue in the Gulf of Aden, but commanders are hopeful they will be found, officials told The Washington Post. The strong heaviness and fatigue are more of a concern than hypothermia. alive.

Two Navy SEALs go missing off the coast of Somalia during night embarkation mission

White House National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby addressed the report on Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation.”

“As far as we know, the search for the two sailors in the water is still ongoing,” Kirby said. “This was not related to the attack in Yemen. This was a conventional interdiction operation that we have been conducting for some time to stop the flow of arms supplies to Yemen. It has nothing to do with the attack against them.” ”

“Nobody wants a conflict with the Houthis. We don't want a conflict here with Yemen. We're trying to stop these attacks,” Kirby added.

The U.S. Navy conducts regular interdiction missions and has intercepted weapons from ships bound for Houthi-held Yemen.

Houthi fighters near Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, January 14, 2024. (AP)

Two US Navy Sailors Missing Off the Coast of Somalia: Central Command

An official told The Associated Press on Saturday that the mission was unrelated to Operation Prosperity Guardian, an ongoing U.S. and international mission to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea, or to retaliatory strikes carried out by the U.S. and Britain in the Red Sea. He said that. Yemen has reportedly carried out attacks in the past two days against a number of radar stations, missile launch sites and storage facilities used to carry out Red Sea attacks.

The SEAL mission was also unrelated to Iran's seizure of the oil tanker St. Nicholas, another U.S. official told The Associated Press.

Houthi fighters and tribesmen rally against the United States on Sunday, January 14, 2024. (AP)

But U.S. officials interviewed by the Post accused Iran of “aiding and abetting” the crisis by providing technical and intelligence support to the Houthis.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported on Monday that less than a day after Yemen's Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship cruise missile at a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea, a missile fired from Yemen was fired in the Gulf of Aden. It was reported that the ship had hit a US-owned ship.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday that search and rescue operations continue to locate the two sailors, but that “in the interest of operational security, no additional information will be released until the personnel recovery operation is complete.” Stated.

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“Out of respect for the families of those affected, we will not be releasing any further information regarding the missing personnel at this time,” Centcom said, without naming the SEALs. “Sailors were forward deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of ​​operations and supported a variety of missions.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.