U.S. Navy seizes thousands of weapons discovered aboard a ship in the North Arabian Sea

The U.S. Navy seized thousands of weapons discovered aboard a vessel in the North Arabian Sea, the service announced.

"The cache of weapons included dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades launchers. Other weapon components included advanced optical sights," according to the Navy.

"USS Monterey and its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Advanced Interdiction Team (AIT) discovered the illicit cargo during a routine flag verification boarding conducted in international water in accordance with customary international law," the Navy noted. "The original source and intended destination of the materiel is currently under investigation."

The Associated Press reported that a U.S. defense official noted that the arms resembled those in prior interdicted shipments bound for the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The official said that the ship came from the Islamic Republic of Iran. That information was based on interviews with the crew and on material investigated on the ship.