(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 03 - Five days after the attack on the Mercer Street tanker off the coast of Oman, in which two sailors including a British were killed, another tanker was hijacked 60 miles off the coast of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates.
According to British security sources cited by the British media, a group of 8-9 armed men boarded the Asphalt Princess flying the Panamanian flag and took the crew hostage.
A "potential act of piracy" has made known the British Navy while some British sources of maritime security - reported by the British media - have advanced the hypothesis that behind the new episode in the Persian Gulf there may be "forces supported by Iran". A suspect immediately sent back to the sender by the Tehran Foreign Ministry who spoke of a "suspicious" incident and urged not to create a "false atmosphere" against Iran. Assuring that we are ready "for assistance and rescue in the region". (HANDLE).