DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The US Navy has seized a large cache of weapons smuggled by two small ships off the coast of Somalia, announced Tuesday, amid a violent war in neighboring Yemen.
Among the weapons seized by the USS Winston S. Churchill guided missile destroyer in the Indian Ocean last week were thousands of Kalashnikov rifles, light machine guns, heavy sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and weapons to the crew, the Navy said. .
In its statement, the 5th Navy Fleet, based in Bahrain, did not identify the origin of the smuggled weapons or reveal its destination. But a US defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to discuss details of the seizure, said there was “some evidence” that the weapons were destined for war-torn Yemen across the Gulf. of Aden. Authorities are still investigating, the official added.
Over the course of two days, the destroyer stopped and searched the two ships for illicit cargo as part of the Navy’s routine maritime security patrol in the region. Those on board the ships were released after the operation, he added.
A short video released by the Navy appeared to show American sailors inspecting one of the intercepted dhows, a traditional ship that normally sails in the waters of the Persian Gulf region, while helicopters circled overhead. Smuggling photographs, a sample of the much larger quantity of weapons, showed rows of what appeared to be new Kalashnikovs wrapped in plastic and stacks of rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
“These operations prevent nefarious actors from illegally spreading their lethal aid,” said the commander. Timothy Shanley, Churchill’s commanding officer.
The assortment of weapons aboard the dhows mirrored other cargoes banned by the United States and allied forces in the region that were later found heading for Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels are fighting a Saudi-led military coalition for control of country since 2015. Yemen is flooded with small arms that have been smuggled into poorly controlled ports over years of conflict.
Analysts say the pattern of the shipment corresponds to previous instances of suspected Iranian smuggling into Yemen. Last June, for example, Saudi naval forces seized a dhow carrying anti-tank missiles and thousands of assault rifles believed to have been manufactured in Iran. They were on their way to Yemen through smuggling networks in Somalia, according to a recent report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
“The unique combination of material is consistent with several interdictions over the years that have definitely been linked to Iran,” said Tim Michetti, an expert on illicit arms flows, about the seizure revealed on Tuesday.
“Combined with items identical to those recovered from groups aligned with Iran in the region,” he added, the assortment “provides a strong indication of the source of a transfer.”
Arab countries, the West and United Nations experts allege that Iran has armed Houthis with everything from assault rifles to ballistic missiles, something Tehran has long denied, despite evidence to the contrary. The 5th Fleet has repeatedly accused Iran of smuggling weapons across the Arabian Sea to the Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and much of the north of the country.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the interception.
The ban comes at a delicate time in Yemen and across the region. Houthi forces have advanced aggressively against Marib’s last remaining government stronghold in recent weeks. Tensions are rising between Iran and the United States because of the tattered 2015 atomic deal that sought to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions.
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Associated Press editor Jon Gambrell contributed to this report.