U.S. Navy intercepts fishing vessel smuggling rifles in Gulf of Oman -statement

CAIRO (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet said on Tuesday it had intercepted a fishing vessel smuggling 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles in the Gulf of Oman on a maritime route from Iran to Yemen on Jan. 6.

“The intercepted vessel, which was sailing on a route historically used to traffic illicit cargo to the Houthis in Yemen, was crewed by six Yemeni nationals,” it added in a statement.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab; Writing by Enas Alashray; Editing by Andrew Heavens)