Russian-made surface-to-air missiles, explosives originated in Iran likely bound for Al Qaeda militants in Yemen.
SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen confirmed on Saturday that a ship intercepted last month off its coast was an Iranian vessel trying to smuggle explosives and surface-to-air missiles to the country, the state news agency Saba reported.
Officials in Washington said earlier this week that the seizure of the ship on January 23 had been coordinated with the U.S. Navy and that the intercepted shipment was believed to have been from Iran and destined for insurgents, likely to be Shi'ite Muslim Houthi rebels mainly based in northern Yemen.
Saba quoted a source at Yemen's higher security committee as saying the weapons including Russian-designed SAM 2 and SAM 3 anti-aircraft missiles, were hidden inside four containers concealed by a diesel tank with a capacity of 100,000 liters.
"The source said that the ship, with its cargo, was handed over to eight Yemeni crew in Iran to deliver it to the Yemeni shores," Saba said.
The agency said the weapons were now being unloaded and sorted and the crew questioned.
More...
