WASHINGTON.- The search operation to rescue two SEAL sailors lost in the Arabian Sea during a mission to board a ship and confiscate Iranian-made weapons ended after 10 days, the US military said Sunday, as it released them. dead.
The rescue operation was now becoming a recovery effort, the United States Central Command said in a statement. The names of the service members were not released as notifications to families continued.
Ships and aircraft from the United States, Japan and Spain had relentlessly searched more than 21,000 square miles, according to the military, with assistance from the Fleet Numerical Meteorology Oceanography Center, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area Command, the Scripts Institute of Oceanography at the University of San Diego and the Office of Naval Research.
“We mourn the loss of our two naval special forces warriors and will always remember their sacrifice and example,” said General Erik Kurilla, head of the US Central Command. “Our prayers are with the families and friends of the SEALs, the US Navy and the entire special forces community at this time.”
According to authorities, the Jan. 11 operation targeted an unflagged ship carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen. Authorities have said that as the team boarded the ship, one of the SEALs was submerged in strong waves and a teammate attempted to save him.
The commandos had left the USS Lewis B. Puller, a mobile maritime base, and were supported by drones and helicopters. They boarded a small special operations gunboat manned by a naval special operations crew to reach the ship.
In the raid they confiscated several Iranian-made weapons, including ballistic and cruise missile components such as propulsion and guidance devices, as well as warheads, and anti-aircraft defense parts, according to the Central Command. It was a new seizure by the US Navy and its allies of weapons shipments destined for the rebels, whose attacks threaten global commercial traffic in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in a campaign associated with the war between Israel and Hamas in the Strip. from Gaza. The missile components seized included the types used in those attacks.
The US Navy ended up sinking the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe, according to Central Command. The 14 crew members of the ship were arrested.
Source: With information from AP
