Two Navy SEALs are missing after Thursday night mission off coast of Somalia

WASHINGTON– Two US Navy SEALs are missing after conducting a night boarding mission Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to three US officials.

The SEALs were on an interdiction mission, boarding a ship when one was brought down by high waves. According to their protocol, when one SEAL is overtaken, the next one jumps after him.

Both SEALs are still missing. A search and rescue mission is underway and the waters in the Gulf of Aden, where they were operating, are warm, two of the U.S. officials said.

The US Navy has conducted regular interdiction missions, intercepting weapons on ships headed to Houthi-controlled Yemen.

The mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the ongoing US and international mission to provide protection for commercial ships in the Red Sea, nor to the retaliatory attacks that the United States and the United Kingdom have carried out in Yemen over the past two days, the official said 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 made public.

In addition to defending ships against drones and missiles launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the US military has also come to the aid of commercial ships that have been targeted by piracy.

In a statement on Saturday, US Central Command said search and rescue operations are currently underway to locate the two sailors. The command said it would not release additional information about Thursday night’s incident until the personnel recovery mission is complete.

Sailors were deployed to the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of ​​operations to support a wide variety of missions.