Indian commandos board Arabian Sea vessel after hijack call

Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to "maintain adeterrent presence" after a string of recent shipping attacks, including adrone strike near India's coast blamed on Iran by the United States.
It comes at a time when many vessels have been rerouted from the Red Sea,where Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have carried out drone and missileattacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battlingHamas militants.
The navy said it had "responded swiftly to a maritime incident in the ArabianSea involving a hijacking attempt" of the MV Lila Norfolk, a Liberian-flaggedbulk carrier.
The INS Chennai, a navy destroyer, had intercepted the vessel on Fridayafternoon and a spokesman told AFP that commandos were in the process ofensuring it was "clear of any illegal persons who were reported on the vesselearlier".
It did not give a more precise location of the vessel, which was last pingedby online marine traffic monitors off the coast of East Africa six daysearlier.
Local media reported that 15 Indian crew members were aboard the 84,000-tonneship, owned by the Dubai-based bulk shipping company Lila Global.
Five or six "unknown armed personnel" had boarded the vessel on Thursdayevening, the navy said.
It did not specify whether hijackers had gained control of the ship at anypoint but said an overhead patrol flight had ascertained the safety of thecrew on Friday morning.
- 'Committed to ensuring safety' -
"The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring safety of merchant shipping inthe region along with international partners and friendly foreign countries,"the navy said.
Last month a drone attack hit the MV Chem Pluto tanker 200 nautical miles(370 kilometres) off the coast of India.
Iran's foreign ministry rejected accusations of responsibility for thatattack by Washington as "worthless".
It was the first time Washington had openly accused Iran of directlytargeting ships since the start of Israel's war on the Palestinian militantgroup Hamas, which is backed by Tehran.
That conflict was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel launched byHamas on October 7 from the Gaza Strip, during which about 1,140 people,mostly civilians, were killed, according to an AFP tally based on Israelifigures. Fighters also seized about 250 hostages, Israel says.
Israel's campaign has killed at least 22,600 people in Gaza, mostly women andchildren, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Yemeni rebel attacks have prompted major firms to reroute their cargo vesselsaround the southern tip of Africa, a much longer voyage with higher fuelcosts, reports BSS.