THE WEAPON’S TRAIL TO YEMEN & SOMALIA
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The USA Navy said in a statement Monday 04/04/2016 it has seized a weapons shipment in the Arabian Sea from Iran likely heading to war-torn Yemen.
The Navy said that the USS Sirocco on 03/28/2016 intercepted and seized the shipment of weapons hidden aboard a small dhow, a type of ship commonly used in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean.
The Navy said the shipment included 1,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 21 .50-caliber machine guns. It said those aboard the dhow were released after sailors confiscated the arms.
Just recently, on Tuesday 03/29/2016. French naval forces have seized a large weapons cache from a small ship said to be heading towards Somalia. The cache according to the BBC included assault rifles, machine guns and antitank weapons.
The weapons smugglers were spotted heading toward Somalia by the French warship (FS Provence) Caïman helicopter whilst it was undertaking routine surveillance in the Northern Indian Ocean. A team from Provence boarded the small vessel and determined that it was not registered in any country. The team then searched it and discovered the weapons.
The seizure is considered a major step towards stabilizing the horn of Africa region which has been terrorized by the Al Qaeda affiliated Islamist group, al-Shabab.
The seizure comes barely a month after an Australian naval ship intercepted a cache of arms on a fishing boat off Oman, also believed to be on its way to Somalia. There were 1989 AK-47 rifles and 100 rocket-propelled grenades.
A Saudi-led coalition, backed partialy by USA , is fighting in Yemen against Shiite rebels and their allies there. Officials have linked similar weapons seizures to Iran and the Shiite rebels, though the rebels deny receiving support from the Islamic Republic.
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Related topics ;
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11/2015 – 2 WEAPON BOATS HIT BY SAUDI JETS
10/2015 – BAHRAIN SUSPECTS IRAN BEHIND HUGE EXPLOSIVE STASH
09/2015- YET ANOTHER IRANIAN WEAPONS SHIPMENT SEIZED
03/2014 – ISRAELI NAVY SEIZED IRANIAN ROCKETS SHIPMMENT
01/2013 – ANOTHER IRANIAN WEAPONS SHIP SEIZED IN YEMEN
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ABC-NEWS
AFRICA-NEWS
