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USS Boxer Pulls into Khalifa Port One Week after Claims of Downing Iranian Drone

2019-07-26 - 5:45 p

Bahrain Mirror: An American website said that the USS Boxer pulled into Bahrain's Khalifa bin Salman Port on Thursday for a visit, days after the amphibious assault ship made headlines for downing at least one Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran denied the American claims and said that all of its drones in the region landed back at their bases that day. It also published about six minutes of video surveillance footage purportedly taken by a drone that monitored Boxer before it returns to its base.

Boxer's crew, roughly 2,000 sailors and Marines, are expected to rest and relax in the US base south east of Manama. The command has not specified any activities while in port.

The ship may have taken out a second unmanned aircraft during the incident, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said to a CBS News reporter aboard the ship before its port call, but he was only "confident" that one of the drones was brought down.

Tehran demands Washington to present evidence of downing the drone.

Arabic Version