US Navy sailors reported missing off Somalian coast

Two U.S Navy soldiers have been reported missing off the coast of Somalia, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday in a statement.

“On the evening of January 11, two U.S. Navy Sailors were reported missing at sea while conducting operations off the coast of Somalia,” CENTCOM wrote. “Search and rescue operations are currently ongoing to locate the two sailors.”

Officials said they would not release further information until the recovery operation of the sailors is complete, citing security reasons. Personal information about the sailors will also be kept from the public, out of respect for the families, the command confirmed.

The two sailors were deployed to the U.S. 5^th Fleet area of operations that supported “a wide variety of missions.”

The 5^th Fleet oversees operations in 2.5 million square miles of water in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean. It is comprised of 21 countries and three “critical choke points” at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb in southern Yemen, the Navy’s website said.

The search and rescue operations come at a time of heightened tension in the region amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the attacks by Houthi rebels on shipping boats in the Red Sea.