US military fires at cargo ship in Gulf of Oman

A U.S. military aircraft disabled a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday after the ship's civilian crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings and attempted to violate a naval blockade, according to CENTCOM. Gulf News reports the vessel was the St Kitts-flagged M/V Huda, which had reportedly attempted to leave regional waters after visiting an Iranian port. Released video shows the aircraft firing precision munitions at the stern of the ship.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) stated the incident involving the bulk carrier and military forces occurred approximately 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in the UAE. UKMTO noted that the condition of the crew, the extent of the damage, and any environmental impact were not yet known.

In a separate development, CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper directed the formation of Task Force Iron Gate on November 7. According to Gulf News, this team of approximately 20 civilian and military personnel will be based in Tampa, Florida, to coordinate with U.S. government agencies to prevent Iran from using the Caspian Sea and land routes to transport sanctioned materials, dual-use technologies, advanced weapons, and illegal revenue.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, Gulf News, Middle East Eye, Ajel English — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.