DUBAI: Drone fragments recovered from the attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker off the coast of Oman show Iran was behind the incident, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing a US military report.
Photographs of drone parts and analysis of the proximity of the strikes to Iran, and the sophistication of the attack point to Iran’s involvement, a report by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan, said.
The debris, found on and close to the damaged tanker, “were identical to (components in) previously identified Iranian unmanned one-way attack systems,” the report said.
“The use of Iranian designed and produced one way attack ‘kamikaze’ UAVs is a growing trend in the region…They are actively used by Iran and their proxies against coalition forces in the region, to include targets in Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” the report added.
The detailed accusations, based on findings by investigators from from the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan following a visit to the MV Mercer Street, also mentioned the proximity of the strikes to Iran.
“The distance from the Iranian coast to the locations of the attacks was within the range of documented Iranian one-way attack UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles),” the Central Command report said.
US investigators further said it appeared the tanker had been hit by a total of three drones on July 29-30, killing the ship’s master and a security officer.
British and Israeli explosives experts, who were given access to evidence, concurred with the US findings, according to CENTCOM.
Meanwhile Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven economies said Iran was threatening international peace and security due to findings following the attack.
During a meeting in Tokyo, they condemned the “unlawful attack committed by Iran,” which killed a British and a Romanian national. They also confirmed their unified position in their commitment to maritime security and the protection of commercial shipping.
“This was a deliberate and targeted attack and a clear violation of international law. All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack,” the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US and the High Representative of the European Union said in a statement on Friday evening.
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Drone fragments from Israeli-linked tanker attack point to Iran: US military report
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Drone fragments from Israeli-linked tanker attack point to Iran: US military report
- British and Israeli explosives experts, who were given access to evidence, concurred with the US findings
Palestinians retrieve belongings from West Bank camp before home demolitions
- Israel plans to demolish 25 buildings housing up to 100 families
- Follows IDF operation earlier this year against camps in the northern occupied West Bank
NUR SHAMS, Palestinian Territories: Dozens of residents from the West Bank’s emptied Nur Shams refugee camp returned on Wednesday to retrieve belongings ahead of the Israeli military’s demolition of 25 residential buildings there.
Early this year, the military launched an ongoing operation it said was aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from camps in the northern occupied West Bank — including Nur Shams, Tulkarem and Jenin.
Loading furniture, children’s toys and even a window frame onto small trucks, Palestinian residents hurried Wednesday to gather as much as they could under the watchful eye of Israeli soldiers, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Troops performed ID checks and physical searches, allowing through only those whose houses were set to be demolished.
Some who were able to enter salvaged large empty water tanks, while others came out with family photos, mattresses and heaters.
More than 32,000 people remain displaced from the now-empty camps, where Israeli troops are stationed, according to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Mahmud Abdallah, who was displaced from Nur Shams and was able to enter a part of the camp on Wednesday, said he witnessed for the first time the destruction that had taken place after he was forced to leave.
“I was surprised to find that there were no habitable houses; maybe two or three, but they were not suitable for living,” he said.
“The camp is destroyed.”
‘Determined to return’
The demolitions, affecting 25 buildings housing up to 100 families, were announced earlier this week and are scheduled for Thursday.
They are officially part of a broader Israeli strategy of home demolitions to ease its military vehicles’ access in the dense refugee camps of the northern West Bank.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territory since 1967.
Ahmed Al-Masri, a camp resident whose house was to be demolished, told AFP that his request for access was denied.
“When I asked why, I was told: ‘Your name is not in the liaison office records’,” he said.
UNRWA’s director for the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Roland Friedrich, said an estimated 1,600 houses were fully or partially destroyed during the military operation, making it “the most severe displacement crisis that the West Bank has seen since 1967.”
Nur Shams, along with other refugee camps in the West Bank, was established after the creation of Israel in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their homes in what is now Israel.
“We ask God to compensate us with palaces in paradise,” said Ibtisam Al-Ajouz, a displaced camp resident whose house was also set to be destroyed.
“We are determined to return, and God willing, we will rebuild. Even if the houses are demolished, we will not be afraid — our morale is high.”
Early this year, the military launched an ongoing operation it said was aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from camps in the northern occupied West Bank — including Nur Shams, Tulkarem and Jenin.
Loading furniture, children’s toys and even a window frame onto small trucks, Palestinian residents hurried Wednesday to gather as much as they could under the watchful eye of Israeli soldiers, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Troops performed ID checks and physical searches, allowing through only those whose houses were set to be demolished.
Some who were able to enter salvaged large empty water tanks, while others came out with family photos, mattresses and heaters.
More than 32,000 people remain displaced from the now-empty camps, where Israeli troops are stationed, according to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Mahmud Abdallah, who was displaced from Nur Shams and was able to enter a part of the camp on Wednesday, said he witnessed for the first time the destruction that had taken place after he was forced to leave.
“I was surprised to find that there were no habitable houses; maybe two or three, but they were not suitable for living,” he said.
“The camp is destroyed.”
‘Determined to return’
The demolitions, affecting 25 buildings housing up to 100 families, were announced earlier this week and are scheduled for Thursday.
They are officially part of a broader Israeli strategy of home demolitions to ease its military vehicles’ access in the dense refugee camps of the northern West Bank.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territory since 1967.
Ahmed Al-Masri, a camp resident whose house was to be demolished, told AFP that his request for access was denied.
“When I asked why, I was told: ‘Your name is not in the liaison office records’,” he said.
UNRWA’s director for the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Roland Friedrich, said an estimated 1,600 houses were fully or partially destroyed during the military operation, making it “the most severe displacement crisis that the West Bank has seen since 1967.”
Nur Shams, along with other refugee camps in the West Bank, was established after the creation of Israel in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their homes in what is now Israel.
“We ask God to compensate us with palaces in paradise,” said Ibtisam Al-Ajouz, a displaced camp resident whose house was also set to be destroyed.
“We are determined to return, and God willing, we will rebuild. Even if the houses are demolished, we will not be afraid — our morale is high.”
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