Yemeni naval forces have seized a foreign ship loaded with anti-tank weapons believed to be bound for the country's northern Shiite insurgents and caught the Iranian crew on board, the pan-Arab al-Arabia satellite TV Channel reported on Monday.

The Iranian-flagged ship was seized off the Yemeni coast on the Red Sea, near Medi area in the far northwestern governorate of Hajja, al-Arabia said, citing its correspondent in the capital Sanaa.

Another report by the official SABA news agency said Yemen's parliament on Monday formed a fact-finding security team to probe the entrance of a foreign vessel with weapons shipment into the Yemeni regional waters along the Red Sea. No further details were given.

The Iranian crew of seven were immediately taken for interrogation in the capital Sanaa, al-Arabia said, adding that government officials refused to comment for the time being.

Yemeni security sources confirmed the ship was on its way to the northwest coast to unload its cargo of weapons and temporarily hid inside farms at Medi which borders the rugged areas of Saada, al-Arabia said.

The cargo of weapons would be later delivered to Houthi Shiite rebels in Saada where the army has been fiercely battling them since mid 2004, Yemeni security sources said.

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