• An unidentified US service member is missing after a Black Hawk crashed off the southern coast of Yemen on Friday evening during a training accident
  • Five others aboard the helicopter were rescued but have not yet been named  
  • It’s unclear what caused the Black Hawk to crash, which is under investigation 
  • The US military maintains a small special operations base there to track down militants from al-Qaeda

By Associated Press and Jordan Gass-Poore for Dailymail.com

Published: 09:42 BST, 26 August 2017 | Updated: 15:10 BST, 26 August 2017

An American service member is missing after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the southern coast of Yemen on Friday evening in what US military officials are calling a training accident.   

Five others aboard the aircraft were rescued, officials said in a statement issued by US Central Command.

A search is ongoing for the missing service member and the crash is under investigation.

A US military Black Hawk, similar to the one pictured above, crashed off the southern coast of Yemen on Friday evening in what US military officials are calling a training accident 

A US military Black Hawk, similar to the one pictured above, crashed off the southern coast of Yemen on Friday evening in what US military officials are calling a training accident 

Central Command hasn't released the names of those on board or the unit to which the helicopter belongs. Pictured is President Donald Trump with visiting troops to the agency at MacDill Air Force Base in February in Tampa, Florida 

Central Command hasn't released the names of those on board or the unit to which the helicopter belongs. Pictured is President Donald Trump with visiting troops to the agency at MacDill Air Force Base in February in Tampa, Florida 

Central Command hasn’t released the names of those on board or the unit to which the helicopter belongs. Pictured is President Donald Trump with visiting troops to the agency at MacDill Air Force Base in February in Tampa, Florida 

Officials haven’t released the names of those on board or the unit to which the helicopter belongs.  

Asked if the crash involved another special forces raid, Central Command told The Associated Press that ‘this was a routine training event specifically for US military personnel’. 

‘Training events such as this are routinely held by US forces within a theater of operations in order to maintain their proficiency within the operating environment,’ the agency said in a statement. ‘Commanders deemed this location appropriate and safe for a routine training event, considering both the operational environment and weather conditions at the time.’

Yemen, located on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, is the Arab world’s poorest country and is engulfed in a yearslong civil war

The war pits Shiite rebels and their allies against a Saudi-led coalition backed by the US. In January, US special forces backed with Emirati troops launched a raid in Yemen (as seen in this image), killing dozens of people

The war pits Shiite rebels and their allies against a Saudi-led coalition backed by the US. In January, US special forces backed with Emirati troops launched a raid in Yemen (as seen in this image), killing dozens of people

The war pits Shiite rebels and their allies against a Saudi-led coalition backed by the US. In January, US special forces backed with Emirati troops launched a raid in Yemen (as seen in this image), killing dozens of people

Yemen, located on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, is the Arab world’s poorest country and is engulfed in a yearslong civil war.

The war pits Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies against a Saudi-led coalition backing the country’s internationally recognized government. The US has provided targeting and logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition, which faces criticism over its airstrikes killing civilians caught up in the conflict.

Yemen is also home to what the US considers the most dangerous branch of the al-Qaida terror network. US special forces backed with Emirati troops launched a raid in Yemen in January under President Donald Trump that killed a US Navy SEAL and 30 other people, including women, children and an estimated 14 militants. 

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