“Enough to start a small war” — US seizes illicit weapons in Arabian Sea
The guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey has seized an illicit shipment of weapons from a stateless dhow in international waters of the North Arabian Sea.
A statement from U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs office says the USS Monterey seized enough weapons in the North Arabian Sea to “start a small war”. The seizure was made on 6th and 7th of May.
The Monterey discovered the cargo during a routine flag verification boarding conducted in international waters in accordance with “customary international law”.
The cache of weapons included dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades launchers. Other weapon components included advanced optical sights.
The origin of the weapons and their intended destination is currently under investigation.
