Western special operations activity is on the rise around a new US partner in a strategic but unstable area of the Mediterranean [Video]

A former Russian partner who has drawn closer to the US in recent years has lately become something of a hub for Western special operations activity.

Earlier this year, US Navy SEALs and Special-Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen completed a three-week-long series of exercises with Cypriot naval commandos off of Cyprus.

The exercises between the US and its eastern Mediterranean partner come as the war in Gaza and Houthi attacks on shipping along the nearby Red Sea continue.

The exercises send a “clear message to our adversaries,” Capt. Bill Gallagher, the SEAL commander on-site said. “Through joint endeavors, we fortify our capabilities and make clear that any aggression will be met with a swift, unyielding response.”

The operators trained in Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure and other missions. VBSS training simulates boarding and searching a vessel for illegal cargo and potentially seizing it.

Americans aren’t the only ones who have deployed to the island recently.

As a result of the war in Gaza, special operation …