Two US Navy sailors reported missing off coast of Somalia

The US Armed Forces announced in a statement on Friday the loss of two US Navy members off the coast of Somalia since Thursday evening.

The US military command clarified, "A search and rescue operation is underway to locate the sailors. We will not release any additional information for operational security reasons until the rescue operation is completed."

The sailors operate in the US Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, and are deployed across a vast region, including the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, and parts of the Indian Ocean.

The US military, which has a base in Djibouti, has been conducting operations in Somalia for several years in collaboration with the Somali army on behalf of the government.

Primarily targeting the extremist group Al-Shabaab, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the US military conducts airstrikes.

AFP