19 killed in Iran naval ‘friendly fire’ incident

Nineteen sailors were killed and 15 others injured in a "friendly fire" incident involving two Iranian naval vessels in the Gulf of Oman, the Navy said on Monday.

Iranian state media reported that a new anti-ship missile being tested by the frigate Jamaran hit the light support ship Konarak on Sunday, the BBC reported.

The "Konarak vessel was struck with a missile yesterday (Sunday) afternoon during a military exercise in the waters of Bandar-e Jask" off Iran's south coast, state TV said.

"The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target," it added.

The incident happened near the port of Jask, some 1,270 km south-east of Tehran, in the Gulf of Oman, the BBC quoted the state TV report as saying.

The Jamaran and Konarak are said to belong to naval forces of the Iranian military.

Iran's armed forces regularly hold exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.