DUBAI — The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said Sunday it had seized
a huge cache of illicit Russian and Chinese weapons from a stateless dhow
sailing in international waters of the North
Arabian Sea.
اضافة اعلان
The Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, said the
guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey intercepted the vessel and discovered the
cargo during a routine boarding, in a two-day operation on May 6-7.
“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
grenades launchers,” it said in a statement.
The arms are in
US custody and their source and intended
destination is under investigation, it said.
The Fifth Fleet said the Monterey was in operation for 36
hours, providing security for boarding teams.
“After all illicit cargo was removed, the dhow was assessed
for seaworthiness, and after questioning, its crew was provided food and water
before being released.”
The statement did not indicate where the vessel may have
come from, but said the
US Navy’s regular patrols in the region “disrupt the
transport of illicit cargo that often funds terrorism and unlawful activity.”
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