India Demands Answers After Three Sailors Killed in US Naval Action Near Gulf of Oman
Islamabad: India has strongly protested to the United States following the deaths of three Indian sailors in a US Navy operation near the Gulf of Oman, according to reports.
Indian media has sharply criticized Washington over the incident, with many outlets also recalling the 1988 tragedy in which a US warship mistakenly shot down an Iranian passenger aircraft, killing all 290 people on board, including 10 Indian nationals.
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, three vessels carrying Indian crew members came under the impact of recent US military operations this week. In one of the incidents, three Indian sailors were killed and several others were affected.
The renewed criticism has revived memories of the July 3, 1988 incident, when a US naval vessel mistakenly identified an Iranian civilian airliner as a military aircraft and shot it down over the Persian Gulf. The disaster resulted in the deaths of all passengers and crew on board.
At the time, the United States described the incident as a defensive action and expressed regret, while Iran condemned it as a grave humanitarian tragedy. Subsequent international investigations pointed to a number of technical and operational errors.
India has now called on the United States to provide a full explanation regarding the use of lethal force against civilian maritime assets and to determine accountability for the recent deaths of the Indian sailors.
