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A Japanese supertanker damaged as it passed near the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf was the subject of a terrorist attack, the state-run United Arab Emirates news agency reported today.
Traces of homemade explosives were found on the hull of the M Star after an inspection by specialists, according to an unidentified but "responsible" government official, the WAM agency in Abu Dhabi said.
Experts found a dent above the water line on the starboard side, the agency said, two days after a little-known group linked to al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack by a suicide bomber.
According to the WAM report the tanker was probably hit by "a boat loaded with explosives."
The tanker's crew reported an explosion on July 28 that blew a lifeboat off the deck and smashed windows and doors, injuring one crew member. Explanations at the time ranged from a freak wave to a collision with a U.S. nuclear submarine.
News of the attack is likely to raise concerns about security issues in the strait, a vital waterway through which 40 percent of the world's crude oil is exported.
Security experts were initially skeptical of the claim of responsibility by the group called Abdullah Azzam Brigades, but a Dubai-based security analyst, Theodore Karasik, told Reuters: "The UAE has no interest in portraying this as a terrorist attack. So saying that it is, that's significant."
An unidentified spokeswoman for Mitsui, the tanker's owner, told the news agency that it could not confirm the WAM report, adding: "The investigation on the tanker is still continuing, and while we are looking at all possibilities, the company has not heard anything that will help determine the cause of the damage."
A similar approach was taken by Japan's official in charge of maritime safety, Hiroaki Sakashita, who told The Associated Press that the transportation ministry had collected samples from the tanker.
"First we will analyze everything we obtained before making any judgment," he was quoted as saying.
The tanker left the Emirates today after repairs were carried out, WAM reported.
A spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet told Reuters that American divers had taken part in the examination of the tanker, which was reportedly carrying 270,000 tons of oil, and would continue to assist in the investigation.
Frank Gardner, a BBC security correspondent, said Abdullah Azzam Brigades was considered by experts "a name of convenience rather than an actual organization."
He called the attack an amateur operation, contrasting it to the well-planned al-Qaida attack that blew a hole in the side of the USS Cole in Aden in 2000, killing 17 sailors.