US SEIZES 'AL-QAEDA DRUG BOAT'

The US navy has intercepted a boat carrying drugs near the Gulf in what it
says is a suspected al-Qaeda drugs trafficking operation.

Fifteen people on board the vessel were arrested and the navy said it had
found hashish with a street value of $11m hidden in compartments on board.

It is at least the third drug-smuggling boat to have been seized in two
weeks in or near the Gulf.

A number of arrested sailors are being questioned, the Pentagon said.

US navy ships including the USS Port Royal, USS Peleliu and USS Germantown
stopped the boat on Thursday in the northern Arabian Sea, said 5th Fleet
spokesman Commander James Graybeal.

Searchers found the drugs on Friday under blocks of ice and in hidden
compartments in the vessel, he said.

'War on terror'

The US is stepping up efforts to tackle al-Qaeda funding.

Two Arab sailing boats carrying illegal drugs were seized before Christmas
in the northern Arabian Sea.

The US navy said the USS Decatur had seized almost two tons of hashish
valued at up to $10m aboard a boat near the Straits of Hormuz.

Of the 12 people detained in that operation, the US said three had links to
al-Qaeda.

Smuggling routes in the region are known to be used by al-Qaeda, says the
US military, which describes the seizures as "a vital part of winning the
global war on terror".