Jerry Smith

The News Journal

President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in Yemen.

Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. He was a member of SEAL Team 6.

An 8-year-old American girl was among 30 others killed in the operation on an al-Qaida compound, and three other U.S. service members were wounded.

The president arrived at DAFB on Marine One in the early afternoon and was joined by his daughter, Ivanka. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported until his arrival. That group flew in separately from Fort McNair on a V-22 Osprey helicopter and did not see the president land.

A spokesperson also confirmed that Delaware Sen. Chris Coons accompanied Trump to DAFB.

"I believe it is critically important to pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our country," Coons said in a statement, also noting that he missed the Senate confirmation vote of Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson.

"I have made my opposition to Mr. Tillerson’s vote known publicly over the last two weeks, and I voted against his nomination in the Foreign Relations Committee on January 23 and again on the Senate floor on Monday," he said in the statement.

Dover officials said that Wednesday’s solemn service was closed to the media. Dover has long been the point of entry for fallen U.S. service members returning home. Former President Barack Obama lifted a ban on media coverage of the dignified transfer ceremonies, though families may still request privacy. Owens' family is said to have asked that his return be kept private.

A recipient of two Bronze Stars, a Joint Service Commendation and an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, among others, Owens joined the Navy in 1998 and received his special warfare training in Coronado, California. In a statement following his death, the Navy Special Command called Owens a "devoted father, a true professional and a wonderful husband."

STORY: Inmates take over Vaughn Correctional Center

The raid resulted in the deaths of 14 militants and the capture of critical intelligence, said the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, in a statement Sunday.

A U.S. military aircraft involved in Saturday's raid experienced a “hard landing” and had to be destroyed to avoid having it fall into enemy hands. The incident resulted in additional injuries, according to Central Command.

“This is one in a series of aggressive moves against terrorist planners in Yemen and worldwide,” the statement said. “Similar operations have produced intelligence on Al-Qaeda logistics, recruiting and financing efforts.”

Trump said in a statement that the raid against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula headquarters captured "important intelligence that will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world."

Owens' death underscores the human costs of the military campaigns Trump now oversees. Far fewer troops are serving in combat now than in the wars Trump's predecessors led in Afghanistan and Iraq, but thousands of Americans remain in hotspots around the world.

In Afghanistan, where America's longest war continues, about 8,400 U.S. troops are training and advising local forces. More than 5,100 U.S. troops in Iraq and about 500 in Syria are involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group. The U.S. also engages in counterterrorism operations – mainly drone strikes – in Yemen, where al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula has exploited the chaos of the country's civil war.

Sunday's predawn raid – which a defense official said was planned by the Obama administration but authorized by Trump – could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in Yemen. More than half a dozen militant suspects were among those killed. The operation also took the life of the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and U.S. citizen who was targeted and killed by a drone strike in 2011.

STORY: Delaware Civil Rights Coalition speaks out against Trump

As a candidate, Trump said he would be willing to "take out" the families of terrorists in order to root out extremism. On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said no Americans "will ever be targeted" in raids against terror suspects.

The president's trip to Dover comes as he begins weighing whether to reshape U.S. military activities around the world. As a candidate, he vowed to be tougher on the Islamic State and at one point said he would be willing to send up to 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. Last week, Trump gave the Pentagon and other agencies 30 days to submit a plan for defeating the Islamic State.

STORY: Prosecutors flee as caseloads grow

Trump has said little about his approach to Afghanistan. Obama had pledged to end the war there on his watch, but continuing security concerns prompted him to extend the U.S. military campaign, handing the war off to a third American president.

Trump, who never served in the armed forces and received student and medical deferments during the Vietnam War, had an uneven relationship with the military community during the presidential campaign.

About 60 percent of voters who served in the military supported Trump in the presidential election, compared with 34 percent who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. But Trump also was criticized by military groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, for his feud with the Khan family, whose Muslim-American son was killed while serving in Iraq.

This story contains information from the Associated Press.