The two US Navy SEALs who went missing off the coast of Somalia have been declared dead by the US military on Sunday after a 10-day search failed to locate them. The two navy soldiers went missing during an operation to seize Iranian weapons bound for Yemens Houthi rebels.US Navy SEALs go missing off the coast of SomaliaThe Central Command ( CENTCOM) had previously reported that 2 US Navy sailors went missing on January 11 in a daring operation that intercepted the Iranian missile components. However, despite an extensive search to locate the 2 sailors, the rescue teams could not locate them.After failing to locate the sailors after an extensive search of ten days, CENTCOM released a statement announcing the demise of the missing sailors and updated their status to deceased.We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing US Navy SEALs have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased, CENTCOM said in a statement.CENTCOM Status Update on Missing U.S. Navy SealsWe regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALs have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased. The search and rescue operation for the two Navy SEALs reported… pic.twitter.com/OAMbn1mwK8— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 21, 2024CENTCOM describes operation to seize Iranian armCENTCOM hailed this operation and described the capture of the missile components as the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons... to the Huthis since the beginning of Huthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023.The Houthis have started attacking ships since November 2023 that are tied to Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas.Houthis affect global tradeUndeterred by US and British strikes on rebel assets after these threats, the militant group continues attacking shipping traffic through strategic maritime trade zones that have serious consequences on global trade.With the Houthis attacking ships passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Seas entrance between southwest Yemen and Djibouti, around 12 percent of global trade has been seriously affected.Ships that used to pass through the Red Sea had to now divert thousands of miles around Africa causing much distress to shipping companies.CENTCOM says will shift focus to recover bodiesAfter declaring the death of the two navy sailor, CENTCOM says that it will now shift its focus to recovering their bodies.The search and rescue operation for the two Navy SEALs reported missing during the boarding of an illicit dhow carrying Iranian advanced conventional weapons... concluded and we are now conducting recovery operations, the statement said.The dangerous operation demonstrates the lengths US forces are going to choke off Iranian arms flows, even at the cost of special operators lives.
