Search for missing Navy SEALs in Arabian Sea called off

A search for two missing Navy SEALs in the Arabian Sea has been called off…

Fox News

Airborne, naval assets from US, allies searched more than 21,000 square miles for missing SEALs.

A search for two U.S. Navy SEALs who went missing at sea off the coast of Somalia this month has been called off, U.S. Central Command said Sunday.

The SEALs had been on a mission chasing shipments of Iranian-made weapons bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen. A U.S. official previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that the SEALs were attempting to board a ship they suspected was falsely flagged that could be smuggling weapons.

The two special forces operators were climbing on a ladder to board a vessel while on a mission in the Gulf of Aden when high waves knocked one into the sea. The second SEAL jumped in after the first as part of Navy SEAL protocol to help a partner in distress, and they both vanished.

“We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALS have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased,” U.S. CENTCOM said in a statement, adding that it is now conducting recovery operations.

This undated photograph released by U.S. Central Command shows what is described as the vessel that carried Iranian-made missile components bound for Yemen’s Houthi. (U.S. Central Command)

Airborne and naval platforms from the U.S., Japan and Spain continuously searched more than 21,000 square miles for the missing SEALs.

Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command, University of San Diego – Scripts Institute of Oceanography, and the Office of Naval Research – Oceanographic support also assisted in the search, CENTCOM said…