DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� The U.S. Navy seized over 2,100 assault rifles from a ship in the Gulf of Oman it believes came from Iran and were bound for Yemen鈥檚 Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, a Navy spokesman said Tuesday. It was the latest capture of weapons allegedly heading to the Arab world鈥檚 poorest country.
The seizure last Friday happened after a team from the USS Chinook, a Cyclone-class coastal patrol boat, boarded a traditional wooden sailing vessel known as a dhow. They discovered the Kalashnikov-style rifles individually wrapped in green tarps aboard the ship, said Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the Navy鈥檚 Mideast-based 5th Fleet.
Experts examining photos released by the Navy later said the weapons appeared to be Chinese-made T-56 rifles and Russian-made Molot AKS20Us. . Similar green tarping also has been used.
The Chinook, along with the patrol boat USS Monsoon and the guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans, took possession of the weapons.
鈥淲hen we intercepted the vessel, it was on a route historically used to traffic illicit cargo to the Houthis in Yemen,鈥� Hawkins told The Associated Press. 鈥淭he Yemeni crew corroborated the origin.鈥�
The Yemeni crew, Hawkins added, will be repatriated to a government-controlled part of Yemen.
A United Nations arms embargo has prohibited weapons transfers to the Houthis since 2014, when Yemen鈥檚 civil war erupted.
Iran has long denied arming the Houthis even as . Independent experts, Western nations and U.N. experts have traced components seized aboard other detained vessels back to Iran.
Iran鈥檚 mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The Houthis seized Yemen鈥檚 capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemen鈥檚 exiled government in March 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting has pushed the Arab world鈥檚 poorest nation to the brink of famine.
A six-month cease-fire in Yemen鈥檚 war, the longest of the conflict, expired in October despite diplomatic efforts to renew it. That鈥檚 led to fears the fighting could again escalate. More than 150,000 people have been killed in Yemen during the conflict, including over 14,500 civilians.
There have been sporadic attacks since the cease-fire expired, though international negotiators are trying to find a political solution to the war.
In November, , also allegedly from Iran and bound to Yemen.
___
Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
