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U.S. Navy commander fired over Iran's capture of 10 U.S.sailors

Xinhua, May 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. Navy has fired the commander of the 10 U.S. sailors who were detained by Iran for about 15 hours after drifting into Iranian territorial waters early this year.

According to a Navy statement released on Thursday, U.S. Navy Commander Eric Rasch was relieved of his duties as commanding officer of Coastal Riverine Squadron 3 as of May 12.

"Rasch was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," said the statement.

Rasch was in charge of 10 U.S. sailors whose vessels accidentally strayed into Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf on January 12.

Iranian military boats then surrounded the U.S. boats and made the sailors onboard kneel with their hands behind their heads.

A Navy investigation later found that faulty navigation equipment did not indicate the vessels' position in Iranian waters. Furthermore, one of the vessel had mechanical problems that delayed their potential transit out of those waters. Enditem