US Jets Attack Iranian Ships Near Oman, Multiple Casualties Reported

KATHMANDU. At least 6 people were injured and 6 others went missing in an attack by US fighter jets on 6 Iranian cargo and fishing vessels near the Omani port city of Khosab, the Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

The vessels belonged to villagers from the southern Hormozgan province's Bandar Lengeh county, the agency quoted county governor Foad Moradzadeh as saying. Moradzadeh stated that 20 people were on board the vessels at the time of the attack, adding that the injured have been admitted to hospital.

The Irana news agency had reported that at least one person was killed and 10 others injured in a prior night's US attack on the Hormozgan coast.

Iran stated that the attack caused a fire on the cargo ship and that the remaining four were missing. Clashes between Iran and the United States began around the waters of Hormuz on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday night, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran's main military command, stated that US forces attacked two Iranian vessels. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the Iranian command, said that the Iranian army recently inflicted heavy damage on US military vessels east of Hormuz and south of Iran's Chabahar port.

The US Central Command issued a statement saying that its forces stopped an unexpected Iranian attack and responded by attacking in self-defense as US Navy ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz.