U.S. Navy ships and aircraft searched Monday for two members of the elite Navy SEALs who went missing during a mission to board and seize control of a ship carrying spare parts for Iranian intermediate-range ballistic missiles bound for Somalia, the U.S. Defense Department said. official, the Associated Press agency reports, citing News.ro.

Military equipment of the Iranian Revolutionary GuardPhoto: Ground Forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard / AP / Profimedia

The crew aboard the dhow, which was flying without the flag of any country, planned to transfer missile parts – including warheads and engines – to another boat off the coast of Somalia, the official said.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the US Navy determined that the ship had previously illegally transported weapons from Iran to Somalia.

The SEALs were aboard the USS Lewis B. Puller, an expeditionary ship at the U.S. Navy base, and were traveling aboard a special small combatant vessel manned by a Special Forces Navy crew to reach the target ship.

During the landing in rough seas around 8:00 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. Romanian time), the SEAL member was overturned by a high wave and the mate went after him.

Both were reported missing.

The team that boarded the target vessel immobilized 12 crew members.

The crew members chosen for preventive measure did not have documents with them, which allowed to search the boat.

The weapons on board were confiscated, and the ship was sunk – this is the usual procedure, which consists in piercing the keel.

US officials say the waters in the Gulf of Aden are warm and that Navy SEALs are trained to deal with such emergencies.

US Navy boats, helicopters and drones were involved in the search on Monday.

The U.S. Navy regularly conducts such interdiction missions in the region and intercepts weapons destined for Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Navy SEALs’ mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian — the ongoing U.S. and international mission to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea — or the attacks carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom on Friday and Saturday, officials said. As repression in Yemen against Houthi rebels after increasing attacks on ships with ties to Israel in the Red Sea, News.ro cites.