Aug 30, 2018

The US Navy has intercepted a small boat packed with hundreds of automatic rifles in the Gulf of Aden, and has handed the sailors over to Yemeni authorities, a defense official told AFP on Thursday.

Investigators have not yet determined where the boat came from or where it was headed, but it was boarded in an area where the US Navy has previously confiscated Iranian-supplied arms destined for war-ravaged Yemen.

"We're not ready to pin this on anyone yet, we are doing an investigation of the evidence," the US official said.

The incident occurred Tuesday when sailors from the USS Jason Dunham boarded a small skiff that was having engine trouble and taking on water.

On board, they found about 600 bags filled with small arms -- mostly AK-47s -- totalling more tha