Two US Navy SEALs slipped and fell into the sea while climbing a ladder to board a ship off the coast of Somalia. Their whereabouts are unknown.
The US Navy is conducting a search and rescue operation for two missing SEALs in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, anonymous US defense officials said on January 13.
The incident occurred on January 11 when the US special forces climbed a ladder to board a ship in rough seas. One slipped, but it is unclear how the other fell into the water. The identities of the two special forces, as well as the name of the ship and the reason for their approach, have not been released.
US special forces practice landing on a cargo ship off the coast of Kuwait in 2017. Photo: US Navy
The unnamed officials stressed that the incident was not related to Iran's seizure of the St Nikolas oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on January 11, nor was it part of an operation to protect international cargo ships in the area.
Central Command (CENTCOM), the US military's operations unit in the Middle East, confirmed that two marines were missing, but refused to release further information until the search operation was over.
Location of the Gulf of Aden. Graphic: Wikipedia
SEAL is a unit of the US Naval Special Warfare Command, trained to operate in all environments, although its basic mission is special operations at sea. This is considered one of the most elite special forces units in the country.
The SEALs' role focuses on lightning raid missions. They secretly infiltrate enemy territory, gather intelligence, kill or capture targets, rescue hostages in a very short period of time, and then withdraw from the hostile area.
Vu Anh (According to Washington Post, Reuters )
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