US Navy announced it seized a big shipment of thousands of assault weapons, machines guns and sniper rifles hidden aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea to support Houthi rebels in Yemen
Monday, May 10, 2021
Thousands of illicit weapons seized from a stateless dhow are displayed on the rear deck of the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey on May 8, 2021.
An American defense official told The Associated Press that the Navy's initial investigation found the vessel came from Iran, again tying the Islamic Republic to arming the Houthis despite a United Nations arms embargo. Iran's mission to the U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though Tehran has denied in the past giving the rebels weapons.
The seizure, one of several amid the years-long war in Yemen, comes as the U.S. and others try to end a conflict that spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. The arms shipment, described as sizeable, shows that the war may still have far to run.
The guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey discovered the weapons aboard what the Navy described as a stateless dhow, a traditional Mideast sailing ship, in an operation that began Thursday in the northern reaches of the Arabian Sea off Oman and Pakistan. Sailors boarded the vessel and found the weapons, most wrapped in green plastic, below deck.
When laid out on the deck of the Monterey, the scale of the find came into focus. Sailors found nearly 3,000 Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, a variant of the Kalashnikov. They recovered hundreds of other heavy machine guns and sniper rifles, as well as dozens of advanced, Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles. The shipments also included several hundred rocket-propelled grenade launchers and optical sights for weapons.
The Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet did not identify where the weapons originated, nor where they were going. However, an American defense official said the weapons resembled those of other shipments interdicted bounded for the Houthis.
Today on May 10, CNN told that the weapons seizure so big it covered the rear deck of a 567-foot US Warship. "The cache of weapons included dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Other weapon components included advanced optical sights," the Navy statement said.
Today on May 10, CNN told that the weapons seizure so big it covered the rear deck of a 567-foot US Warship. "The cache of weapons included dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Other weapon components included advanced optical sights," the Navy statement said.
The origin and destination of the weapons is under investigation but previous arms shipments confiscated by the US Navy under similar circumstances were bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen, Lt. Cmdr. Pete Pagano, a spokesperson for the Navy's Fifth Fleet told CNN in an email Monday. Pagano cited three similar seizures by the Fifth Fleet in recent years.
On February 12, the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston Churchill stopped two dhows off the coast of Somali, which were carrying weapons including rocket-propelled grenade launchers, crew-served weapons and small arms.
On February 9, 2020, the cruiser USS Normandy stopped a dhow in the Arabian Sea and seized missile components.
And on November 25, 2019, the destroyer USS Forrest Sherman found missile components on a dhow it stopped in the Arabian Sea.
The Navy also said the weapons seized last week will remain in US custody while the investigation is ongoing.
Read this news from CNN at the following link:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/10/middleeast/us-navy-seizes-weapons-arabian-sea-intl-hnk-scli-ml/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/10/middleeast/us-navy-seizes-weapons-arabian-sea-intl-hnk-scli-ml/index.html
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The weapons seizure so big it covered the rear deck of a 567-foot US warship
(CNN) A joint US Navy and Coast Guard team seized thousands of illicit weapons last week after stopping a small ship in the North Arabian Sea, the Navy said in a statement.
The cruiser USS Monterey stopped the stateless dhow on May 6 during a routine operation to verify its registry, the Navy said.
A US Coast Guard Advanced Interdiction Team deployed on the Navy ship then boarded the dhow and found the weapons stash.
An SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey flies above a stateless dhow interdicted with a shipment of illicit weapons in international waters of the North Arabian Sea on May 6, 2021.
The massive arms haul covered much of the rear flight deck of the 567-foot (173-meter) US warship after it was transferred over in what the Navy said was a two-day operation.
"The cache of weapons included dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Other weapon components included advanced optical sights," the Navy statement said.
The origin and destination of the weapons is under investigation but previous arms shipments confiscated by the US Navy under similar circumstances were bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen, Lt. Cmdr. Pete Pagano, a spokesperson for the Navy's Fifth Fleet told CNN in an email Monday.
Pagano cited three similar seizures by the Fifth Fleet in recent years.
On February 12, the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston Churchill stopped two dhows off the coast of Somali, which were carrying weapons including rocket-propelled grenade launchers, crew-served weapons and small arms.
On February 9, 2020, the cruiser USS Normandy stopped a dhow in the Arabian Sea and seized missile components.
And on November 25, 2019, the destroyer USS Forrest Sherman found missile components on a dhow it stopped in the Arabian Sea.
The Navy also said the weapons seized last week will remain in US custody while the investigation is ongoing.
After the dhow stopped last week was deemed seaworthy and its crew was questioned, they were provided with food and water and released, according to the statement.
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