Ships and aircraft search for 2 Navy SEALs missing after mission to confiscate Iranian missile parts
A U.S. official says Navy ships and aircraft are combing areas of the Gulf of Aden for two missing Navy SEALs as details emerge about their mission
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Navy ships and aircraft combed areas of the Gulf of Aden for two missing U.S. Navy SEALs on Monday as details emerged about their mission to board and take over a vessel carrying components for medium-range Iranian ballistic missiles headed for Somalia, a U.S. defense official said Monday.
The official said crew on the dhow, which did not have a country flag, were planning to transfer the missile parts, including warheads and engines, to another boat off the coast of Somalia. The Navy recognized the boat as one with a history of transporting illegal weapons from Iran to Somalia, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not made public.
The SEALs were on the USS Lewis B. Puller, a Navy expeditionary sea base vessel, and traveled in small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew to get to the boat. As they were boarding it in rough seas, around 8 p.m. local time, one SEAL got knocked off by high waves and a teammate went in after him. Both are missing.
The team boarding the small boat was facing about a dozen crew members. The crew members, who were taken into custody, had no paperwork, which allowed a search of the vessel. The weapons were confiscated, and the boat was sunk, a routine procedure that usually involves blowing open holes in the hull.
