US Navy Seal in raid off Somalia's coast! [Iran]

[Boats]

Incredible haul of weapons including ballistic missiles and warheads being sent form Iran to Houthi rebels is revealed after US Navy SEALs seized dhow during daring night raid off Somalia's coast as search for two seamen lost in mission continues
By: ELENA SALVONI - PUBLISHED: 08:17 EST, 16 January 2024 |
UPDATED: 08:39 EST, 16 January 2024
Re: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ons-ballistic-
missiles-warheads-Iran-Houthi-rebels-Navy-Seals-Somalia-coast.html

NOTE: Incredible haul of weapons including ballistic missiles and warheads being sent form Iran to Houthi rebels is revealed after US Navy SEALs seized dhow during daring night raid off Somalia's coast as search for two seamen lost in mission continues
The SEALs were on the USS Lewis B. Puller when they carried out the Jan 11 raid
READ MORE: Another merchant ship is struck by a missile while passing Yemen

US Navy SEALs have seized a haul of lethal weapons including warheads for
ballistic and anti-ship missiles that Central Command says were sent by Iran to
arm Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

Two sailors were lost at sea during the daring night-time raid off the coast of
Somalia on January 11, and a desperate search has been underway to locate
them in the days since.

The SEALs were on the USS Lewis B. Puller, a Navy expeditionary sea base vessel,
and traveled in small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare
crew to get to the boat.

As they were boarding it in rough seas, around 8pm local time, one SEAL slipped
while trying to climb a ladder, reportedly knocked into the sea by high waves, and
a teammate went in after him.

The team who managed to board the small boat, known as a dhow, faced about a
dozen crew members, who were taken into custody before the boat was searched
and a cache of weapons was discovered.

The deadly haul comprises of the first Iranian-supplied advanced conventional
weapons (ACW) to the Houthis, according to USCENTCOM (photo's onsite!)

The SEALs were on the USS Lewis B. Puller, a Navy expeditionary sea base vessel,
and traveled in small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare
crew to get to the boat.

Navy SEALs completed a 'complex boarding' of the dhow in international waters of the Arabian Sea, USCENTCOM said, supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The weapons were confiscated and the boat was sunk, a routine procedure that usually involves blowing open holes in the hull.

The deadly haul comprises of the first Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis, according to USCENTCOM.

ACWs are sophisticated, modern weapons which the US aims to limit the distribution of 'to prevent destabilizing accumulations of military capabilities'.

'It is clear that Iran continues shipment of advanced lethal aid to the Houthis,' said USCENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla.

The seizure is 'yet another example of how Iran actively sows instability throughout
the region,' he added.

The direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen
violates UN Security Resolution 2216 and international law, the US has highlighted.

The commander added: 'We will continue to work with regional and international
partners to expose and interdict these efforts, and ultimately to reestablish freedom
of navigation.'

It is also the first seizure of advanced Iranian-manufactured ballistic missile and
cruise missile components by the US Navy since November 2019, as tensions
reach boiling point in the region.
[Contraband appears to have been smuggled amid fishing nets and other materials,
in pictures released by US Central Command]. Once again photos on site!
A defense official said crew on the dhow were planning to transfer the missile parts, including warheads and engines, to another boat off the coast of Somalia.

The Navy recognized the boat as one with a history of transporting illegal weapons from Iran to Somalia, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not made public.

It comes after a recent US seizure of more than 2,100 assault rifles from a ship also discovered in the Gulf of Oman.

The latest publicized mission was part of a VBSS - visit, board, search and seizure - operation, which are usually carried out by some of the military's best-trained, elite soldiers.

Gen. Kurilla said the two sailors lost were directly involved in the operation.

'We are conducting an exhaustive search for our missing teammates,' he said today.

US officials have said that the waters in the Gulf of Aden are warm, and Navy
SEALs are trained for such emergencies.

Yesterday, Navy ships, helicopters and drones were involved in the ongoing search.

The US Navy has conducted regular interdiction missions in the region, also
intercepting weapons on ships that were bound for Iranian-backed Houthis
in Yemen.

Officials have said that the SEAL mission was not related to Operation Prosperity
Guardian, the ongoing US and international mission to provide protection to
commercial vessels in the Red Sea, or the retaliatory strikes that the United States
and the United Kingdom have conducted in Yemen over the past two days.
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My comments: Going to the site there are several links you may want to tap
onto? I agree this crap in the Middle East is aflame once again. It was just
a matter of time. Whomever is supplying them weapons has to be dealt with!
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Boats