Tanker set ablaze after being struck by projectile in Strait

AP Dubai

A tanker travelling off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire early Tuesday morning after being struck by a projectile, the British military said.

The attack was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.

Suspicion over the attack immediately fell on Iran, which is suspected of attacking other ships using a route close to the Omani shore despite warnings from Tehran to ships that only their route was safe in the waterway.

Three tankers hit in latest attacks 

Three tankers were struck by projectiles Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, in the latest attacks targeting vessels moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The new assaults threatened to choke off the flow of traffic in the strait just as countries hoped to restore normal shipping practices and ease the global economic strain of the war between the US and Iran.