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According to the US military, the picture is supposed to show Iranian weapons parts for the Houthi militia in Yemen: two elite soldiers disappeared during the seizure
Photo: US Central Command / AP
The US armed forces have declared dead two elite soldiers who have been missing since an operation off the Somali coast against an Iranian arms shipment for Yemen's Houthi militia.
The two members of the Navy Seals special unit had not been found after an extensive ten-day search, the US regional command Central Command (Centcom) said on Sunday.
"Her status has been changed to deceased."
The search and rescue operation for the two Navy Seals who disappeared during a nighttime operation to search a sailing ship on January 11th has reportedly been suspended.
The search for the bodies should continue.
According to Centcom, the ship intercepted by US forces was carrying Iranian missile components intended for the Houthi movement in Yemen.
Somalia and Yemen are separated by the Gulf of Aden.
The Iranian-backed Houthi militias have attacked numerous ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since the war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas began on October 7th.
The militia sees itself as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” directed against Israel.
The US responded to the attacks with a series of attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen.
phw/AFP