Tanker struck by projectiles in the Persian Gulf off Qatar

A tanker was struck by two projectiles off Qatar's coast in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, the British military said Thursday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack took place 50 nautical miles north of Qatar's city of Madinat ash Shamal. The center did not identify the tanker or its flag, and the status of the crew, the extent of damage, and any environmental impact were unknown.

Iranian state television reported Thursday that two oil tankers and a towboat caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The report, quoting a Revolutionary Guard statement, did not provide details on casualties or the vessels' flags and could not be independently verified. The Guard also claimed to have seized two U.S. drones in the strait's airspace. Tehran closed the strait, through which about 20% of the world's oil supply passes during peacetime, after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

UKMTO said in a report last month it was "struggling to accurately report" the true number of attacks because the majority of ships now refuse to report them. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack off Qatar.

Separately, South Korea's military proposed expanding the operational area of its Cheonghae anti-piracy unit deployed near Somalia to include waters south of Oman. Defense Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said the expansion would not involve South Korea in the U.S. war with Iran and that Seoul would not directly participate in military operations to ensure freedom of navigation near the Strait of Hormuz unless "allowable circumstances" were created, such as an end to the war or an agreement to stop the fighting. The changes require approval from President Lee Jae Myung and the legislature.

In Jordan, a security officer was killed near the Sri Lankan Embassy in Amman on Thursday in what authorities described as a terrorist act. Jordan's Public Security Directorate said a member of its forces was assaulted with a sharp object and died "in a cowardly terrorist attack," adding that a preliminary investigation indicated the attacker had been "planning to commit the terrorist act against the officers of the General Security Directorate."

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal