Two U.S Navy sailors missing off coast of Somalia: Central Command

Two U.S Navy sailors were reported missing while conducting operations Thursday off the coast of Somalia, the U.S. Central Command said.

Search and rescue operations are currently ongoing, the statement said.

Officials said that the two sailors were reported missing on Thursday evening.

The brief statement gave no additional information about what the pair had been doing when they went missing.

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CENTCOM said that the sailors were forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations and supported a "wide variety of missions."

"Out of respect for the families affected, we will not release further information at this time," the statement said.

The U.S. has an estimated 450 military personnel in Somalia after President Biden reversed his predecessor Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces. 

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The U.S. provides military assistance in the East African country as it continues to battle, what the U.S. has called, "the largest and most deadly al-Qaida network in the world."

In 2022, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared "total war" on the thousands of al-Shabab extremists who for more than a decade have controlled parts of the country and carried out devastating attacks while exploiting clan divisions and extorting millions of dollars a year in their quest to impose an Islamic state.

The U.S. supports Somali forces and a multinational African Union force with drone strikes, intelligence and training.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.