Members of Al Qaeda claimed on Tuesday that a suicide bomber blew himself up near a Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz between the UAE and Oman last week according to the US intelligence monitoring group SITE. The M Star’s Japanese owner, Mitsui OSK Lines had previously reported that that tanker was hit by a blast on July 28 in the waterway between Iran and Oman.
SITE said the Brigades of Abdullah Azzam claimed in a message on jihadist websites that it had placed a suicide bomber on the tanker, identifying himself as Ayyub al-Taishan. It said the attack was carried out in the name of Omar Abdul Rahman, the Egyptian “Blind Sheikh” imprisoned in the United States.
The group said that the attack sought “to weaken the infidel global order which is thrust unto Muslim lands and which loots its resources,” according to the Maryland, US-based organisation.
“We delayed the publication of the statement until our heroes returned safely to their bases,” the group said in its statement.
Mitsui OSK Lines officials had said crew members saw a flash and heard an explosion in the incident shortly after midnight local time a week ago. One crewman was slightly injured in the explosion, which caused minor damage to the ship.
Built in 2008, the M Star is capable of carrying over 270 thousand tonnes of crude oil, it was headed for the port of Chiba in Japan after taking on its cargo on July 27 at the UAE port of Das Island. Â Following the incident, the vessel was sent to the UAE port of Fujairah for thorough investigation.
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