Yemeni officials find country's largest-ever waterborne bomb in 'Houthi ghost boat'
The 218kg bomb was discovered within the hold of a basic fishing boat, as Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo reports
Yemeni authorities said they discovered and destroyed the country's largest ever waterborne bomb, which could have been used by the Houthis to target international shipping in the Red Sea.
Officials told ITV News that two weeks ago, local fishermen discovered a basic fishing boat -lying seemingly abandoned along Yemen's southern coastline - that revealed potentially deadly cargo.
The fishermen found an improvised explosive device (IED) within the vessel's hold, which weighed at least 218kg - almost a quarter of a tonne.
A team of expert de-miners carried out a controlled detonation of the IED shortly after it was discovered, creating a large explosion and dust cloud.
Speaking to ITV News, Fekri Hasan Qasim Naji, from Project Masam - a multilateral humanitarian land mine clearance project - described the feeling of shock that confronted the fishermen upon their discovery, saying: "They wondered how many of them would have been killed if the bomb went off."
Witnesses said that the boat had been there for one month, where it could have been unintentionally detonated.
The remnants of wires suggested there might have been a remote control or GPS system, which broke away, while the IED itself included 25kg of C4 explosives, at least 50kg of TNT and some 500 litres of petrol.
Officials in Yemen believe the vessel, were it not discovered, could have been used by the Iran-backed Houthi group.
Seven years ago, a Saudi frigate was attacked by an unmanned bomb-laden craft in the Red Sea.
The US Navy determined on that occasion the assault was likely carried out by the Houthis, with support from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
News of the IED's discovery comes as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday that American forces "destroyed" an Iranian-backed Houthi explosive uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) in the Red Sea.
CENTCOM said in a statement: "US forces identified the USV heading toward the international shipping lane and determined it presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region.
"US Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the USV in self-defence resulting in significant secondary explosions. There were no injuries or damage reported."
In recent months, the Houthis have carried out a number of attacks against shipping vessels, which they claim are either Israeli or linked to Tel Aviv.
It follows Israel's multi-pronged offensive into the Gaza Strip, which itself was triggered by a deadly, surprise incursion into southern Israel by proscribed terror group Hamas.
The Houthi movement is a group of Shia Islamists, who oppose the influence that both Israel and the US have in the Middle East.
At odds with Yemen's internationally-recognised government, the Houthis control the country's western coast, down to the Bab al Mandeb Strait, which is the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Consequently, it oversees one of the world's most vital shipping routes for oil and other trade. It is here where various ships have come under attack by the group.
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