Service members from the destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill board a stateless dhow off the coast of Somalia on Feb. 12, 2021. (Louis Thompson Staats IV/U.S. Navy)

Stars and Stripes reports that the US Navy is still searching for two SEALs missing in the Gulf of Aden more than two days after conducting nighttime operations off the coast of Somalia.

The incident happened Thursday as the SEALs were attempting to board a suspicious vessel in rough seas, The Associated Press reported Saturday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

One SEAL was attempting to board the vessel when they were knocked off by high waves, AP reported. The other SEAL jumped into the sea to rescue their team member, according to the AP report.

U.S. Central Command confirmed in a statement on Friday that the sailors were missing but did not offer additional details out of operational security concerns and respect for the families. The statement did not say what Navy ships or other U.S. military personnel may have been involved.

It wasn’t clear why the vessel drew the team’s attention. Naval forces in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations regularly conduct operations intercepting weapons being sent to Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.

According to the Washington Post, one U.S. official with knowledge of the incident said it was unrelated to the recent U.S.-led strikes in nearby Yemen and the broader international mission to protect commercial vessels from militant attacks originating there. It was also unrelated to the Iranian seizure of a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, the official said.

U.S. Central Command, which coordinates military activities in the region, said the missing service members were Navy sailors and declined to provide additional information “until the personnel recovery operation is complete.”

Special Operations forces in the region have faced difficult counterterror missions and other difficult operations. In November, five crew members of an elite aviation unit were killed during a refueling accident off the coast of Cyprus.

Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.