The U.S. Navy blew up a mine found drifting in the central Persian Gulf near Bahrain, shipping sources said on Monday.
Bahrain's Coast Guard spotted the mine on Sunday, 25 miles northeast of the island. It was the first to be detected in the central Persian Gulf for several months. Kuwait last Tuesday said it had exploded a mine in the northern Persian Gulf.The U.S. Navy says it has discovered at least 166 mines since its minesweepers began patrolling the northern reaches of the waterway in 1987 during the Iran-Iraq war which spilled over into the gulf.
British, French and Italian vessels are due to complete a major sweep of the southern gulf in two weeks.