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Two members of the Navy SEALs who had been reported missing final week off the coast of Somalia had been a part of a nighttime commando operation that seized a small boat carrying deadly assist from Iran to the Houthi militia in Yemen, the U.S. army mentioned on Tuesday.
Navy commandos, backed by helicopters and drones hovering overhead, boarded the small boat, referred to as a dhow, on Thursday and seized Iranian-made ballistic-missile and cruise-missile elements sure for Yemen, the Pentagon’s Central Command mentioned in an announcement.
The seized objects included propulsion and steering programs and warheads for Houthi medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, in addition to air-defense elements, the assertion mentioned. Such weapons transfers to the Houthis violate worldwide legislation and a United Nations Safety Council decision, the army mentioned.
“Preliminary evaluation signifies these identical weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and assault harmless mariners on worldwide service provider ships transiting within the Purple Sea,” the assertion mentioned.
The Navy boarding was the primary seizure by U.S. forces of Iran-supplied weapons to the Houthis because the Iran-backed militants launched the first of more than 30 attacks in November towards industrial vessels working within the Purple Sea and close by waters. It was additionally the primary seizure of superior Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile elements by the Navy since November 2019.
The Houthi militia launched a new round of attacks in delivery lanes essential for international commerce over the weekend, damaging a U.S.-owned industrial ship on Monday after trying to hit an American warship the day earlier than.
The strikes got here simply days after the U.S. and British militaries unleashed a strong barrage on militant websites in Yemen, and the Houthi response made clear how tough it’d show to take away the risk posed to delivery in and across the Purple Sea.
After Thursday’s boarding operation, the Navy deemed the dhow unsafe and sank the vessel. Its 14 crew members had been taken aboard a Navy ship, in accordance with the army’s assertion.
Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, the pinnacle of the Central Command, mentioned that the search continued for the 2 members of the SEALs, working from the expeditionary vessel Lewis B. Puller, who had been reported misplaced within the boarding mission.
As the 2 commandos tried to board the dhow Thursday evening in tough seas, one of many males apparently slipped off the boarding ladder or was swept off by a excessive wave, in accordance with one present and one former Pentagon official who had been briefed on the incident. One other member of the staff then jumped into the water to attempt to rescue the sailor, the officers mentioned. Each quickly disappeared within the swells.
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