U.S. Navy explosive experts believe a 'drone strike' targeted an oil tanker that came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, killing two on board, the American military said Saturday.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- U.S. Navy explosive experts believe a "drone strike" targeted an oil tanker that came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, killing two on board, the American military said Saturday.
The American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher were escorting the Mercer Street as it headed to a safe port, the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet said in a statement early Saturday. The drone attack blasted a hole through the top of the oil tanker's bridge, where the captain and crew command the vessel, a U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as an investigation into the attack still was ongoing.
The Mercer Street, empty of cargo, had been on its way from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, at the time of the attack, Zodiac Maritime said. The attack targeted the tanker just northeast of the Omani island of Masirah, over 300 kilometers southeast of Oman's capital, Muscat. Oman's state-run news agency late Friday described the area as "beyond Omani regional waters" and said its forces responded to the tanker's mayday call.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted late Friday that he spoke with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab about the "need to respond severely" to the attack, although he stopped short of directly blaming Iran. Israel meanwhile has been suspected in a series of major attacks targeting Iran's nuclear program. Also, Iran saw its largest warship recently sink under mysterious circumstances in the nearby Gulf of Oman.
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