Per the U.S Central Command, two sailors of the U.S Navy went missing while they were on an operation on Thursday off the coast of Somalia.

After they were reported missing, the Central Command immediately ordered for conducting Search and Rescue.

The statement issued by the Central Command gave no additional information about what the sailors were doing then.

It mentioned that the two sailors were ‘forward-deployed’ to the Navy’s Fifth Fleet area of operations and were ‘supporting a wide variety of missions.’ It also stated that more information could not be disclosed out of respect for the affected family members.

The U.S. has its military in Somalia to tackle the Al-Shabaab, which it considers an extremist organisation which has carried out many attacks against the government of Somalia.

The U.S has trained Somali forces and collaborated with the government to retaliate to Al-Shabaab strikes and attacks.