Navy Intercepts Over 1,000 Weapons, Including AK-47s, From Unflagged Boat

Hundreds of small firearms, including AK-47s and other weapons, were seized by the U.S. Navy on Tuesday from an unflagged boat in the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, a defense official told CNN on the condition of anonymity.

Destroyer USS Jason Dunham was participating in a U.S. Naval Forces Central Command operation in the area when the interception took place. The weapons were found on a dhow, a small sailboat that is common to the region.

Crew members of the USS Jason Dunham requested permission to board the dhow, which they were allowed to do. After a thorough search of the vessel, the U.S. Navy discovered and confiscated more than a thousand weapons.

United States officials are still analyzing evidence from the boat to determine where the vessel originated from and where it was headed. Although investigators are yet to confirm the boat’s destination, officials said the maritime route was frequently used by smugglers in the past to move various cargo.

The route was also popular among Iranians who used it to transport weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The U.S. supports the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in Yemen that continues to resist the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the country.

After the Houthi Shiite rebels fired on two oil tankers in narrow Bab al-Madeb strait, near the area, Saudi Arabia's state oil company temporarily suspended oil shipments through the route. One of the oil tankers attacked, was damaged.

The oil company agreed to resume the transportation of their shipments after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih vowed the Riyadh-led forces in Yemen had taken "necessary measures" to prevent any such attacks in the future.

The three-year-long conflict in Yemen has left 6,660 civilians dead and 10,563 injured between March 2015 and August 2018, according to United Nations Human Rights Office.

In other news, the navy bomb squad safely detonated a decades-old mine floating in Washington's Puget Sound between Brownsville Marina and Bainbridge Island on Tuesday.

"The detonation did not create a secondary explosion, which indicated the device was inert," the Navy said in a statement, Fox Newsreported. "Its origin remains undetermined. The Navy will continue to investigate."

The object, which was covered in years of marine growth, was reported by the coast guard at 2 p.m. local time (5 p.m. EDT). A perimeter of 1,500-yard was set up around the object before navy could inspect the device and tow it out to a safe area for detonation. The detonated took place around 8:04 p.m. local time (11:04 p.m. EDT).