WASHINGTON: The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that two Navy SEALs were missing in a recent operation conducted by the American military near the coast of Somalia to seize what it said were Iranian weapon components being supplied to the Houthi militia in Yemen.
In a statement on Tuesday, the CENTCOM said that US forces on Januay 11 conducted a night-time seizure of a dhow conducting illegal transport of advanced lethal aid from Iran to resupply Houthi forces in Yemen as part of the militia's ongoing attacks against international merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
The Navy SEALS were operating from the USS Lewis B Puller naval vessel and supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The "complex boarding" of the dhow was conducted near the coast of Somalia in international waters of the Arabian Sea.
The forces seized Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components.
"Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea," the statement said.
The two missing SEALS, who were reported as lost at sea, were directly involved in the operation, the Command said.
“We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,” CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla was quoted as saying in the statement.
This was the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis since the beginning of theattacks against merchant ships in November 2023, the CENTCOM said.
The interdiction also constitutes the first seizure of advanced Iranian-manufactured ballistic missile and cruise missile components by the US Navy since November 2019.