Two US SEALs who were missing in the Gulf of Aden after a raid on an Iranian vessel earlier this month have not been located despite an exhaustive search and are now presumed dead, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday. of the US Armed Forces responsible for the Middle East region (CENTCOM, “Central Command”).

The two servicemen — no further details about them were given — were missing after taking part in a Jan. 11 operation off the coast of Somalia, CENTCOM noted via X (formerly Twitter). “We mourn the loss (…) and will always honor their sacrifice and example,” said its head, General Michael Eric Kurila, according to the same source.

A joint operation by the US, Spain and Japan in an area of ​​some 54,400 square kilometers to locate the two members of the special forces unit, which is formally part of the navy, has failed to locate her. The operation will continue, but now with a different purpose — to recover their bodies — CENTCOM clarified.

The US, in some cases with Britain, has this month launched repeated strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen in response to their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea in a show of “solidarity” with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Attacks on merchant shipping are causing serious problems in international trade and heightening concerns of regional conflagration.

Despite the US strikes, which now appear to be pursuing missiles against Houthi surface ships, the rebels, part of the so-called “axis of resistance” close to Iran, say their attacks on ships they believe are “linked” to the Israel, and now American, will continue.