Mercer Street, an Israeli-managed oil tanker that was attacked is seen off Fujairah Port in United Arab Emirates, August 3, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/File Photo

i24 News – British special operations soldiers are operating in the east of Yemen, hunting for the platform that launched the attack which struck the Mercer Street tanker, British daily the Express reported.

Iranian-backed Houthis are assessed to have launched the drone responsible for the explosion on the Israeli-linked vessel, which killed a British security contractor and Romanian crew member.

The Briton was named as former British Army soldier Adrian Underwood.

The team of around 40 operators from the Special Air Service (SAS) landed in Yemen Sunday and is working with local fixers to facilitate the operation.

Fearing that Tehran has armed the Houthi group with a long-range drone attack capability that threatens shipping in the Gulf of Oman, the ground team is equipped with electronic warfare equipment to detect such activity.

The SAS team is working alongside a US special operations team that was already present in theater to train Saudi Arabian commandoes.

Iran denies any involvement in the incident targeting the Mercer Street, but in the days that followed the attack, a number of other ships suffered security incidents off the Iranian coast.

At least one was reported to have been boarded by “armed Iranians.”

“Everything points to the drone being launched from Yemen. The concern now is that an extended range drone will give them a new capability,” a senior UK military source told the Express Sunday.