JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and different weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a raid final week that noticed two of its commandos go missing, the U.S. military mentioned Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a brand new ship got here below suspected fireplace from the Houthis in the Red Sea and sustained some harm, although nobody was wounded, officers mentioned.
The raid marks the newest seizure by the U.S. Navy and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who’ve launched a sequence of assaults now threatening international commerce in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over Israel’s warfare on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The seized missile elements included sorts probably used in these assaults.
The assaults, U.S.-led retaliatory strikes and the raid all have raised tensions throughout the broader Middle East, which additionally noticed Iran conduct ballistic missile strikes in each Iraq and Syria.
The SEAL raid occurred final Thursday, with the commandos launching from the USS Lewis B. Puller backed by drones and helicopters, with the U.S. military’s Central Command saying it occurred in the Arabian Sea.
The SEALs discovered cruise and ballistic missile elements, together with propulsion and steerage units, in addition to warheads, Central Command mentioned. It added that air protection parts additionally have been discovered.
“Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea,” Central Command mentioned in a press release.
Images launched by the U.S. military analyzed by The Associated Press confirmed elements resembling rocket motors and others beforehand seized. It additionally included what seemed to be a cruise missile with a small turbojet engine — a kind utilized by the Houthis and Iran.
The U.S. Navy in the end sunk the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe, Central Command mentioned. The ship’s 14 crew have been detained.
The Houthis haven’t acknowledged the seizure and Iran’s mission to the United Nations didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
A United Nations decision bans arms transfers to Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Tehran has lengthy denied arming the rebels, regardless of bodily proof, quite a few seizures and specialists tying the weapons again to Iran.
Meanwhile Tuesday, a missile struck the Malta-flagged bulk provider Zografia in the Red Sea. The vessel had been heading north to the Suez Canal when it was attacked, the Greek Shipping and Island Policy Ministry mentioned.
The ship — managed by a Greek agency— had no cargo on board and sustained solely materials harm, the ministry mentioned. The crew included 20 Ukrainians, three Filipinos and one Georgian.
Satellite-tracking information analyzed by The Associated Press confirmed the Zografia nonetheless transferring after the assault.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which screens incidents in the Mideast’s waterways, earlier acknowledged an assault in the neighborhood of the Zografia.
Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly focused ships in the Red Sea, saying they have been avenging Israel’s offensive in Gaza towards Hamas. But they’ve ceaselessly focused vessels with tenuous or no clear hyperlinks to Israel, imperiling transport in a key route for international commerce.
U.S.-led airstrikes focused Houthi positions on Friday and Saturday. In response, the Houthis launched a missile at a U.S.-owned bulk provider in the Gulf of Aden, additional elevating the dangers in the battle.
The SEALs traveled in small particular operations fight craft pushed by naval particular warfare crew to get to the boat. As they have been boarding it in tough seas, round 8 p.m. native time, one SEAL obtained knocked off by excessive waves and a teammate went in after him. Both stay missing.
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Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.