Two foreign nationals killed after drone strikes commercial ship in 'UVA-style attack'

The Liberian-flagged merchant tanker Mercer Street was struck by a drone earlier this month, claiming the lives of two people. 

The investigation continues as disposal sailors continue collecting additional evidence from the ship.

"#Iran may have paused nuclear negotiations but it's continuing attacks on international targets with this week’s drone strike on a commercial ship, the Mercer Street,” U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Houston) through House Foreign Affairs GOP wrote on Twitter. “This comes on the heels of the kidnapping plot against American journalist Masih Alinejad on our soil."

The crewmembers killed in the incident were a Romanian national and a British national. In addition to the fatalities, at least one explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicle struck the vessel, the U.S. 5th Fleet confirmed in a statement, USNI reports. “Initial indications clearly point to a UAV-style attack.”

The ship was sailing under the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG-57). Though the information hasn’t been confirmed, the attack has been attributed to the war between Israel and Iran. The tanker suffered the attack approximately 152 nautical miles northeast of Duqm, and 21 nautical miles off the coast of Oman, according to U.K. Maritime Trade Operations.

“Iran is not just an Israeli problem, but an exporter of terrorism, destruction and instability that are hurting us all,” Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid said in a separate tweet. “We must never remain silent in the face of Iranian terrorism, which also harms freedom of navigation.”

Iran was implicated in a failed kidnapping plot of American journalist Masih Alinejad, who confirmed the incident herself, NPR reports. The export with Iranian descents formed part of the largest kidnapping plot uncovered by the FBI and recently saw a federal indictment. The indictment claims that Iranian officials attempted to lure her out of the country and prepared speed boats and marine routes to escape with her. Alinejad fled from the country in 2009 and now advocates for human rights abuses.

"It's just obvious that they were going to execute me," Alinejad tells NPR's Morning Edition. "They announced that several times."