US destroyer on its way to the Red Sea (French-Archive)
The Washington Post, citing US officials, reported that the two US soldiers who disappeared in the Gulf of Aden were looking for an arms shipment destined for the Houthi group in Yemen.
The orders to carry out the dangerous boarding mission on the ships were issued last week after U.S. officials suspected that a ship crossing the Gulf of Aden was transporting Iranian weapons to Yemen's Houthi group.
The two missing soldiers were preparing to board the ship in rough sea waves when one of them slipped off the stairs, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials familiar with the incident as saying on Sunday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that when the second sailor saw his companion fall into the water, he dived to help, noting that the incident occurred last Thursday in the Gulf of Aden.
It was not immediately clear if other military personnel had successfully boarded the ship or, if so, if any Iranian-made weapons had been found.
Disable
When asked about the operation during an appearance on CBS News' "Face the Nation," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described it as part of the U.S. military's ongoing work to disrupt Iranian arms shipments to Yemen.
Kirby sought to distinguish between this activity and the U.S.-led airstrikes that targeted Houthi facilities in Yemen on the same day, saying they were "not related."
Thursday's incident highlights the ongoing challenge facing the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and America's international partners, who have vowed to hold the Houthis and Iran accountable for the sharp rise in attacks that have significantly disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Senior U.S. officials have blamed Tehran for "aiding and abetting" the crisis, saying the Houthis would not have been able to threaten the shipping route without Tehran's technological and intelligence support, according to the Washington Post.
Source: Washington Post