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2 missing US Navy SEALs declared dead off coast of Somalia

The US Central Command Commander General Michael Kurilla speaks at the 18th IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain's capital on November 19, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

By Yassin Juma | Monday, January 22, 2024

The sailors were on a mission to impound illicit Iranian weapons transported in a dhow, allegedly headed for Yemen’s Houthi fighter’s military base.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has declared the two US Navy SEALs, who went missing off the coast of Somalia on January 11, as dead after an unsuccessful 10-day search.

“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,” it said in a statement. “Out of respect for the families, no further information will be released at this time.”

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CENTCOM added that Japan and Spain were also involved in the search of an area of more than 21,000 square feet to locate the missing SEALs.

The sailors were on a mission to impound illicit Iranian weapons transported in a dhow, allegedly headed for Yemen’s Houthi fighter’s military base. The statement described the cargo as “Iranian advanced conventional weapons”.

The US seized advanced conventional weapons bound for Yemen's Houthis near the coast of Somalia, in international waters of the Arabian Sea, on January 11, 2024. (Photo: CENTCOM/Handout/Anadolu via AFP)

According to US defence officials, one of the sailors fell into the water after he tried to board the dhow. The second one then dove in, as per military protocol.

“We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honour their sacrifice and example. Our prayers are with the SEALs’ families, friends, the US Navy, and the entire Special Operations community during this time,” said Gen Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM'S commander.

Reports of the missing American sailors prompted a public inquisition on what the mission was at a time when matters of the Horn of Africa’s country sovereignty have been put to test, with the recent signing of a sea access deal between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland.

The US military officials gave neither the exact location of the incident nor the identity of the two sailors when they went missing.

Somalia’s coastline runs from the border with Kenya on the Indian Ocean to the Guardafui Channel and the Gulf of Aden

The Somalia government in November 2023 appealed for international support to deter a resurgence of piracy off its coast after five pirates attempted to capture an Israeli-linked tanker in the Gulf of Aden.