Bahrain says 3 sailors forced into Iranian waters in armed robbery

Dubai: Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that three Bahraini sailors were forced at gunpoint from the kingdom’s territorial waters towards Iranian waters during an armed robbery at sea earlier this month.

In a statement summarising the sailors’ testimony, the ministry said the incident took place on February 18, while the men were aboard a Bahraini vessel.

According to their account, armed assailants intercepted the boat and compelled the crew, under threat of weapons, to steer away from Bahraini territorial waters in the direction of Iranian waters.

The sailors said the attackers, whom they identified as Iranian, then forced them to board the assailants’ boat.

The perpetrators allegedly seized one of the vessel’s engines along with other belongings before releasing the men approximately three hours later.

The sailors were subsequently able to return towards Bahrain, the ministry said.